Departmental Travel

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what support his Department expects to provide towards travel costs for UK experts attending international healthcare standards meetings in 2007-08.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department of Trade and Industry contributes toward the travel cost of UK experts attending international meetings. However, budget allocations for 2007-08 and the schedule for healthcare standards' meetings have yet to be confirmed so I am unable to provide information regarding the exact expenditure.

Gas Storage

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the reserve gas storage capacity was in each year since 1997.

Malcolm Wicks: Between 1997 and 2007 Great Britain's gas storage capacity increased by around 25 per cent:
	
		
			   GWh  bcm 
			 1996-97 37,184.7 3.46 
			 1997-98 37,474.5 3.49 
			 1998-99 38,180.6 3.55 
			 1999-2000 38,152.4 3.55 
			 2000-01 39,354.7 3.66 
			 2001-02 39,644.7 3.69 
			 2002-03 39,644.7 3.69 
			 2003-04 43,720.0 4.07 
			 2004-05 43,084.3 4.01 
			 2005-06 45,594.6 4.24 
			 2006-07 46,313.6 4.31 
			  Notes: 1. GWh—Giga Watt hours; bcm = billion cubic meters. 2. The data are from National Grid's planning archives and derived from numerous sources (e.g. tendered projects and storage operators' data). Storage space can be assessed in numerous ways (energy, volume, cushion gas determination, liquefied natural gas (LNG) heel etc.), so may differ from other published data.  3. The reduction in 2004-05 was due to Isle of Grain being converted from an LNG storage facility to an LNG import facility.

Government Services Review

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made towards setting up a Whitehall Group as recommended by the Government's Cross Cutting Review of Government Services for Small Business.

Margaret Hodge: Following the Cross Cutting Review of Government Services for Small Business, the Whitehall Group of Departments and agencies—who met during the Review—were formally re-constituted in meetings of senior officials jointly chaired by SBS and HMT. In the autumn of 2005 the work of the Group was refocused to concentrate solely on the business support simplification programme. The Group now meets a minimum of every six weeks and includes representatives from departments, regional development agencies, Government offices, local government, the CBI and business.

North West Regional Development

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the  (a) staffing and  (b) administration costs were for the North West Regional Development Agency in 2005-06; and what they are expected to be in 2006-07.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 15 January 2007
	The staffing and administration costs for the North West Regional Development Agency in 2005-06 and expected costs for 2006-07 are detailed in the following table:
	
		
			   2005-06  2006-07 
			   Total cost (£m)  Cost as percentage of total expenditure  Total expected cost (£m)  Cost as percentage of total expenditure 
			 Total expenditure 419.50 — (1)463.08 — 
			 Staffing costs 17.83 4.25 (1)19.32 4.17 
			 Administration costs 36.09 8.60 (1)36.48 7.88 
			 (1) Estimate. 
		
	
	The total administration costs above include the staffing costs of £17.83 million and £19.32 million in 2005-06 and 2006-07 respectively.

Westinghouse Engineering

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps were taken to estimate the market value of Westinghouse Engineering before its sale in 2006; and who advised the Government on the sale.

Malcolm Wicks: BNFL's advisors N. M. Rothschild presented a detailed valuation of Westinghouse for the BNFL Board to consider at its monthly Board meeting on 26 May 2005. As part of its responsibility for the BNFL shareholding, the Shareholder Executive handled the sale on behalf of Government. The Shareholder Executive has in-house investment banking and accountancy expertise to handle transactions of this type but the team also used Deloitte for strategic investment advice and had direct access to N. M. Rothschilds throughout.

Church Music

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what resources are available for the preservation and promotion of church music; and if she will make a statement.

David Lammy: Government support for "church music" is primarily channelled through Arts Council England. From 2003-04 to 2005-06, Arts Council England has funded activity with a choral/gospel element or focus in excess of £1.45 million. This has supported the development, touring and promotion of choral and gospel music throughout England.
	In addition, Government funds grants for 80-85 exceptionally talented young choristers to attend independent Cathedral or Collegiate Choir Schools each year, helping to maintain Britain's renowned choral heritage. The total grant allocation for the scholarship scheme in the school year 2006-07 is £151,000. Government also provide funding of around £50,000 per year to Choir schools to fund outreach activities. On 16 January 2007, Alan Johnson, Secretary of State for Education and Skills announced extra money to significantly extend this outreach activity at the Music Manifesto "State of Play" conference in London.
	The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme gives grants to churches and faith groups equal to the VAT that is incurred in making repairs. While the scheme primarily supports fabric repairs, in the 2006 Budget, the scheme was extended to cover some fixtures and fittings, including organs. To date, almost £103,000 has been paid out towards organ repairs. Overall, the scheme has made grants of around £52 million since 2001.

Engagements

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on what dates Ministers in her Department made official visits to the London boroughs of  (a) Tower Hamlets,  (b) Newham and  (c) Waltham Forest in each year since 1997.

Tessa Jowell: Details of visits undertaken by current DCMS Ministers in 2006 are provided in the tables. The information requested for earlier years could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Secretary of State 
			   Borough 
			 24 January 2006 Waltham Forest 
			 31 January 2006 Newham 
			 6 April 2006 Newham 
			 19 April 2006 Tower Hamlets 
			 20 June 2006 Newham 
			 6 July 2006 Newham 
			 30 October 2006 Newham 
			 27 November 2006 Newham 
		
	
	
		
			  Minister for Sport 
			   Borough 
			 15 February 2006 Tower Hamlets 
			 5 September 2006 Tower Hamlets/Newham 
		
	
	
		
			  Minister for Culture 
			   Borough 
			 3 May 2006 Tower Hamlets 
			 14 June 2006 Newham 
		
	
	The Minister for Creative Industries and Tourism did not visit any of the boroughs during 2006.

Government Art Collection

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many pieces from the Government Art Collections have been stolen in each of the last 10 years; what the value of the art stolen was; and what measures have been taken to recover them.

David Lammy: The only works of art in the Government Art Collection which have been reported stolen over the last 10 years are five paintings from the UK ambassador's temporary residence in Buenos Aires, in 2001. The estimated value of these works was £240,000. The police authorities were informed, the works were placed on the Art Loss Register, and the art market is monitored for their possible reappearance.

Olympic Games

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much public sector investment will be required to  (a) build and  (b) convert the broadcast and media centre for the London 2012 Olympics.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 16 January 2007
	The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) have advised that the exact layout and configuration of the international broadcast centre and media and press centre is still being finalised with the International Olympic Committee. It is therefore not possible to give a precise figure at this stage. The ODA have also advised that to provide figures at this point could be prejudicial to obtaining best value for money from the tendering process which will not begin until later this year.

Shipbuilding

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent meetings he has held with trade unions to discuss the Scottish shipbuilding industry.

Douglas Alexander: I meet the STUC on a regular basis to discuss a range of issues.

Freedom of Information

John Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the cost to the Government has been of defending refusals to provide information in response to Freedom of Information requests.

Vera Baird: The information you have requested is not held. However, my Department published the report of the Independent Review of the Impact of the Freedom of Information Act conducted by economic consultancy firm Frontier Economics. The report contains a comprehensive assessment of the component costs of the operation of the Freedom of Information Act. The report was published on 16 October 2006. It can be found on the DCA's website and copies are available in the Libraries of the House.

Public Sector Pensions

David Laws: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the cash equivalent transfer value is of the public sector pensions of the 10 highest paid members of staff in her Department and its executive agencies; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: The current total cash equivalent transfer value for the 10 highest paid DCA staff (for whom current CS Pensions details are available to the Department) is £3,650,854. Six of these individuals are named in the annual report and resources accounts and cash equivalent transfer value of their public sector pensions is therefore reported annually. The information is already in the public domain.

Departmental Travel

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's expenditure was on foreign travel, including accommodation, in  (a) 1996-97 and  (b) 2005-06.

Des Browne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave on 19 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1808W to the hon. Member for Blaby (Mr. Robathan) and the answer Mr. Watson gave on 19 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1581W, to the hon. Member for Shipley (Philip Davies).

Nuclear Submarines

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the submarine supply chain could be maintained for the construction of future ship submersible nuclear submarines in the absence of a positive decision on a Vanguard successor; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: As noted by the HCDC in their recent report "The Future of the UK's Strategic Nuclear Deterrent: the Manufacturing and Skills Base", submarine build rates will need to be maintained in order to sustain the industrial skills base.

Parliamentary Questions

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will answer the question 101443, on the naval bases review, tabled by the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South on 20 November 2006.

Adam Ingram: I replied to the hon. Member on 18 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1264W.

Procurement

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of his Department's spending was allocated to procurement in each of the last 10 years; what the original budget allocation on procurement was in each of those years; and what outturn was in each year.

Adam Ingram: For equipment procurement expenditure for financial years up to and including 2000-01, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 12 February 2003,  Official Report, column 738W.
	There are no directly comparable figures for subsequent years, reflecting the introduction of resource accounting and budgeting in 2001-02 which changed the way in which expenditure is accounted for and recorded. Publication of equipment procurement figures in UK Defence Statistics was discontinued after 2000-01.
	The figures in the following table show the Defence Procurement Agency (DPA) financial resourcing adjusted for depreciation and certain nuclear items over the past five years and the proportion this represents of the entire MOD expenditure.
	The budgetary information provided is drawn from the main supply estimates. These are an early estimate of requirements and as such are subject to amendment as final resource allocations are adjusted to meet in-year departmental needs. Budgetary allocations for the DPA are not readily available for financial years earlier than 2001-02 and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The DPA budget/outturn figures relate to the procurement of new equipment and associated overheads, excluding depreciation and provisions.
	All the figures are in resource accounting terms.
	
		
			  Financial year  DPA budget allocation  (£ billion)  DPA outturn  (£ billion)  Percentage of MOD Budget 
			 2001-02(1) 6.1 5.6 26 
			 2002-03(1) 5.6 6.2 23 
			 2003-04 6.9 6.7 24 
			 2004-05 7.0 6.8 23 
			 2005-06 8.1 7.4 26 
			 (1) 2001-02 and 2002-03 budget and outturn figures exclude non-cash items in line with accounting policy at that time.

Separation Allowance

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the financial payment would be to a soldier serving 600 days in a two-year period under  (a) existing longer separated service allowance rates and  (b) new longer separation allowance rates;
	(2)  what the financial impact on an individual soldier will be of scrapping  (a) the Longer Service Separation Allowance (AT) and  (b) (AT+) bonuses.

Des Browne: For the Army, longer service separation allowance (LSSA) and the associated bonuses are scheduled to be replaced by the longer separation allowance (LSA) on 1 April 2007. The Royal Navy and Royal Air Force have already transferred to LSA as part of an ongoing roll-out of a new tri-service allowance package. The new operational bonus has nothing to do with this reform of existing allowances. There is therefore no question of 'giving with one hand and taking away with the other'. The new bonus is coming out of entirely new money—over £60 million this year. The reform of existing allowances, decided three years ago and endorsed by the independent armed forces pay review body, was not about 'cuts'—it was about making the system fairer—all the money stays in armed forces allowances and benefits. So overall our soldiers, sailors and airmen are now over £60 million better off.
	LSA is a fairer system and has a number of advantages over the LSSA and AT/AT+ bonus system it replaces. For example, LSA is less divisive and removes the unfairness of soldiers on the same deployment either just qualifying for or missing out on the accumulated turbulence (AT) and/or accumulated turbulence plus(AT+) bonuses. From 1 April 2007 LSA will also be payable immediately, with no initial qualifying period, as opposed to 12 months service under LSSA. This benefits soldiers (and sailors, airmen and airwomen) who deploy on an operational tour in their first year of service who, by the end of a six month tour, would have received 180 days extra payment (£1,080, before tax, at £6.02 per day; LSA Level 1 and LSSA Basic Rate are both £6.02 per day) and accrued more days of qualifying service so that they would qualify for the next level of payment earlier than they would have done under LSSA. Under both LSSA and LSA a soldier moves to the next rate after each 300 days qualifying service. More significantly, there are 14 rates of LSA rather than the three of LSSA, with a top rate of £25.42 as opposed to £12.82.
	The financial impact on an individual soldier of removing the accumulated turbulence (AT) and accumulated turbulence plus (AT+) bonuses is dependent upon how long they have been serving, how many days qualifying separation they have accrued and where they are in the rolling two window that is used to calculate the AT bonus calculation. AT bonus is paid after 280 days qualifying separation in a rolling period and AT+ after a total of 365 days qualifying separation in a rolling two-year period. The AT and AT+ bonus are both worth £1,350 before tax. The vast majority of soldiers did not qualify for the bonuses on a normal deployment pattern. For example, only 1 per cent. of the Army qualified for the AT+ bonus in 2005. The number of soldiers serving 600 days in a two-year period is very infrequent and estimated to be no more than a handful.
	In these rare cases the net change of the move to the new system depends on length of service. Under the LSA rules a soldier who accrues considerable QS during the course of a career enjoys significant financial benefit compared with LSSA. This is demonstrated by the following example cases:
	Junior soldier serving 600 days separated service in a two year period, initial six-month tour within first 12 months service.
	
		
			  £ 
			  Old: LSSA( 1)  
			 Initial 180 days  
			 300 days @ £6.02 (Basic rate) 1,806 
			 120 days @ £9.41 (Mid rate) 1,129 
			 AT Bonus 1,350 
			 AT+ Bonus 1,350 
			 Total 5,635 
			   
			  New: LSA( 2)  
			 300 days @ £6.02 (LSA Level 1) 1,806 
			 300 days @ £9.41 (LSA Level 2) 2,823 
			 Total 4,629 
			 (1)12 months qualifying period (2) with no initial qualifying period 
		
	
	Senior soldier serving 600 days separated service in a two year period, having undertaken seven years of separation.
	
		
			  £ 
			  Old: LSSA  
			 600 days @ 12.82 (Top rate) 7,692 
			 AT Bonus 1,350 
			 AT+ Bonus 1,350 
			 Total 10,392 
			   
			  New: LSA  
			 300 days @ 18.93 (LSA Level 8) 5,679 
			 300 days @ 20.01 (LSA Level 9) 6,003 
			 Total 11,682 
		
	
	Under a more realistic 300 days separated service over a two-year period the same comparisons are:
	Junior soldier serving 300 days separated service in a two year period, initial six-month tour within first 12 months service.
	
		
			  £ 
			  Old LSSA( 1)  
			 Initial 180 days 0 
			 120 days @ £6.02 (Basic rate) 722 
			 AT Bonus(2) 0 
			 AT+ Bonus(2) 0 
			 Total 722 
			   
			  New: LSA( 3)  
			 300 days @ £602 (LSA Level) 1,806 
			 300 days @ £.41 (LSA (Level 2) 2,823 
			 Total 4,629 
			 (1)12 months qualifying period (2) would not qualify for either bonus as the junior soldier would not have completed 300 days qualifying separated service, despite clocking up 300 days actual separated service over a 2 year period. (3 )with no initial qualifying period 
		
	
	Senior soldier serving 300 days separated service in a two year period, having undertaken seven years of separation.
	
		
			  £ 
			  Old: LSSA  
			 300 days @ £12.82 (Top rate) 3,846 
			 AT Bonus 1,350 
			 AT+ Bonus(1) 0 
			 Total 5,196 
			   
			  New LSA  
			 300 days @ £18.93 (LSA Level 8) 5,679 
			 Total 5,679 
			 (1) would not qualify for AT+ plus bonus as would not have completed 365 days qualifying separated service over a two year period

Service Personnel: South African Citizens

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many South African citizens are serving in each of the services.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 17 January 2007
	The most recently available data for the number of South Africans serving in each of the services is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Number of South Africans 
			 Naval service 60 
			 Army 790 
			 RAF 10 
			  Notes:  1. Naval service data are at 6 October 2006. 2. Army data are at 1 November 2006. 3. RAF data are at 6 March 2006. 4. Figures do not include UK/South African dual nationals. 5. Figures are for UK regular forces and therefore include nursing services and exclude full-time reserve service personnel, Ghurkhas, the home service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment and mobilised reservists. They include trained and untrained personnel.

Warships

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many warships were based at  (a) Devonport,  (b) Portsmouth and  (c) Faslane in each year since 1997.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 11 January 2007
	The numbers of warships, not including submarines and RFA vessels, based at Devonport, Portsmouth and Faslane each year since 1997 are as follows:
	
		
			   Devonport  Portsmouth  Faslane 
			 1997 23 42 11 
			 1998 27 41 11 
			 1999 27 42 11 
			 2000 24 42 13 
			 2001 24 41 14 
			 2002 22 43 15 
			 2003 22 39 13 
			 2004 21 40 13 
			 2005 21 36 12 
			 2006 21 32 9 
			 2007 20 31 8

Background Radiation

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average levels of background radiation in each region were in  (a) September,  (b) October,  (c) November and  (d) December 2006.

Ian Pearson: Average levels of background gamma radiation, as measured by the Radioactive Incident Monitoring Network (RIMNET), are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  MicroGrays per hour 
			  Region  September 2006  October 2006  November 2006  December 2006 
			 Anglia 0.10 0.10 0.11 0.11 
			 Midlands 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.10 
			 N. E. England 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.11 
			 N. W. England 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 
			 S. E. England 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 
			 S. W. England 0.12 0.11 0.11 0.11 
			 N. Scotland 0.12 0.12 0.11 0.11 
			 S. Scotland 0.11 0.11 0.10 0.10 
			 Wales 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.11 
			 N. Ireland 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10

Departmental Expenditure

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department spent on  (a) flood management and  (b) building flood defences in each year since 1990; what forecasts he has made of annual expenditure on (i) flood management and (ii) flood defences over the next 20 years; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: DEFRA has overall policy responsibility for flood risk management in England, funds most of the Environment Agency (EA)'s flood related work and grant aids individual capital improvement projects undertaken by local authorities (LAs) and internal drainage boards (IDBs). The programme to manage risk is driven by these operating authorities. DEFRA does not carry out works, nor direct the authorities on which specific projects to undertake. DEFRA expenditure from 1995-96 to 2005-06 and current estimates for 2006-07 to 2007-08 are shown in the following table.
	Columns (c) and (d) in the table show funding support from DEFRA to the operating authorities for flood risk improvement projects, including for flood warning, and related studies. Column (e) shows DEFRA grant used by EA for other activities (maintenance of existing defences, public awareness, flood risk mapping, advising on development proposals etc).
	
		
			  £ million 
			   (b) Building flood defences, including flood warning   (a) Flood management, i.e. total of (c), (d) and (e) 
			   (c) EA  (d) LAs and IDBs  (e) EA (other activities)  
			 1995-96 45.3 4.0 — 49.3 
			 1996-97 45.8 3.5 0.1 49.4 
			 1997-98 43.0 4.9 — 47.9 
			 1998-99 33.5 3.3 0.3 37.1 
			 1999-2000 31.8 3.5 1.2 36.5 
			 2000-01 29.3 4.3 12.5 46.1 
			 2001-02 46.0 6.5 11.5 64.0 
			 2002-03 68.3 13.7 5.0 87.0 
			 2003-04 71.1 8.6 5.0 84.7 
			 2004-05 124.0 9.2 234.6 367.8 
			 2005-06 197.5 13.5 229.4 440.4 
			 2006-07(1) 190.0 15.7 223.0 428.7 
			 2007-08(1) 189.0 21.2 246.7 456.9 
			 (1 )Current estimates 
		
	
	Before 2004-05, the flood risk management function of the EA was funded primarily through a combination of grants from DEFRA for specific projects and levies on local authorities. The latter, which were largely supported by revenue support grant from the former Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, are not included in the table. Both forms of funding were largely replaced by grant in aid from DEFRA from 2004-05 onwards. The EA decides how best to use grant in aid to achieve outcomes agreed with Government.
	The table excludes revenue spend by LAs supported by the Department for Communities and Local Government. This covers local authority own spend and their levies to the EA and IDBs. The table excludes expenditure on capital projects for coast protection. These often also provide significant benefit in terms of reducing risk of flooding from the sea but it would not be possible to identify the proportion resulting in flood risk benefit without incurring disproportionate cost.
	I regret figures prior to 1995-96 are no longer available. Funding after 2007-08 is being considered in the 2007 comprehensive spending review.

1 Carlton Gardens

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the cost to public funds of the telephone use of the former Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs was from his official ministerial residence in 1 Carlton Gardens in  (a) 2004-05 and  (b) 2005-06.

Geoff Hoon: My right hon. Friend the former Foreign Secretary (Mr. Straw) did not use 1 Carlton Gardens as his official ministerial residence in these years and would not have incurred any telephone charges were incurred in that respect.

Colombia

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps she is taking to prevent the import of cocaine into the UK from Colombia.

Kim Howells: Preventing the importation of cocaine into the UK from Colombia is a top priority for the UK's international counter-narcotics efforts. The UK works closely with the Colombian authorities to disrupt trafficking and to interdict consignments of illicit drugs.
	We have supported the Colombian government's shared responsibility initiative, which was launched in London in November 2006. The initiative aims to convey to European consumers, the impact of drug consumption on the producing country.
	The UK does not work with Colombia in isolation. We take a broad regional approach to tackling the trade in illicit drugs, through a mixture of political engagement, capacity building and law enforcement support in producer, transit and consumer countries. This includes working with governments of other producer and transit countries in Latin America, as well as with governments in countries along the main trafficking routes for drugs from Latin America (especially through the Caribbean and west Africa).

Commercial Whaling

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps she is taking to curtail commercial whaling.

Ian McCartney: An international moratorium on commercial whaling has been in force since 1986.
	One country, Norway, has never been a party to the moratorium and has never ceased its commercial whaling operations.
	Two other countries, Japan and Iceland, have continued to kill whales but claim that this is in aid of scientific research. In October 2006 Iceland broke with the moratorium and resumed commercial whaling.
	The UK's opposition to Norway's commercial whaling programme has been consistent and strong. In April 2006, the UK led a démarche against Norway's announcement of a record increase in the number of North Atlantic minke whales they planned to catch last year. As it transpired, Norway only caught 546 of its planned catch of 1,052.
	UK officials at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting in June 2006 were in the forefront of the opposition to Japan's unsuccessful attempts to overturn the moratorium. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs engage in international lobbying to encourage other countries to join the IWC and oppose commercial whaling and lethal scientific whaling. In December 2006 the UK joined a démarche of 27 countries requesting Japan to reconsider its planned whaling programme for the next year.
	The UK led the international condemnation of Iceland's decision to resume commercial whaling. On 1 November 2006, our ambassador in Reykjavik led a multinational démarche of 25 countries plus the European Commission, making clear the extreme disappointment felt by those parties at Iceland's decision, and urging Iceland to abandon its current operations. My hon. Friend the Minister of State for Local Environment, Marine and Animal Welfare, (Mr. Bradshaw), summoned the Icelandic ambassador on 17 October 2006 to protest in the strongest possible terms against Iceland's activities.

Iraq

Colin Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Prime Minister was first informed that  (a) Saddam Hussein's execution would be by hanging and  (b) Iraqi television would be covering the execution.

Kim Howells: Iraqi criminal procedure law stipulates that death sentences be carried out by hanging. It was clear when the Iraqi Transitional National Assembly approved the Iraqi Higher Tribunal's statute and rules of procedure on 11 August 2005, that if Saddam Hussein or any other defendant was convicted and sentenced to death by the tribunal execution would be by hanging.
	Official coverage of the execution was a matter for the Iraqi authorities to determine. The government of Iraq immediately investigated and condemned unofficial coverage.

UN Budgets

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the marketing and advertising budget of each of the UN agencies is for 2006-07.

Kim Howells: The UN Specialised Agencies do not have specific budgets for marketing and advertising. Expenditure on activity such as producing information material, advertising publications and maintaining websites is generally included under administrative budgets or under the programme headings to which the material produced relates. The figures provided by each agency do not always cover the same areas of activity or include the same costs (e.g. staffing). They are therefore not directly comparable.
	The following table provides the amount each agency (listed) has spent in UN financial (calendar) year 2006 on activity which it deems to fall under the general area of marketing and advertising. A broad description of activity covered by the figures is included in the table. In most cases, the amounts are given in the local currency of the country where the agency headquarters are based. Where an agency has been unable to provide figures, this is shown in the table.
	
		
			  UN agency  Amount spent in 2006  Description of activity 
			 Food and Agriculture Organisation US$50,000 Recruitment advertising. Public service announcements are contracted on a  pro bono basis. 
			 International Civil Aviation Organisation —(1) — 
			 International Fund for Agricultural Development $40,000 Recruitment advertising and exhibition materials. 
			 International Labour Organisation (ILO) US$40,000 Marketing new ILO publications. The ILO's Communications Department conducts activity that incorporates marketing and advertising but it is not possible to isolate these costs from their budget records. 
			 International Maritime Organisation (IMO) £45,000 Promotional materials (not including the corporate newsletter), catalogues, advertising publications. 
			 International Telecommunication Union (ITU) CHF3.1 million Issuing media advisory notices, publishing the ITU journal and promoting ITU products and services. Includes staffing costs. 
			 UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation US$6.8 million Annual budget for the Bureau of Public Information, including media relations, publications and events management. Includes staffing costs. 
			 UN Industrial Development Organisation €90,370 Production of video and media material. Promotional printing costs. 
			 World Tourism Organisation €250,000(2) Participation in tourism fairs. Producing fliers, brochures and publications. 
			 Universal Postal Union CHF81,000 Publications, posters and audiovisual material. 
			 World Health Organisation —(1) — 
			 World Intellectual Property Organisation CHF2.4 million Creation, design, marketing and distribution of printed material. Film, multimedia material and website maintenance. Does not include staff costs. 
			 World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) CHF863,000 Annual budget for the WMO's Information and Public Affairs Department. It does not include the cost of the WMO Bulletin or the website. 
			 (1) Figures not available. (2) Approximate. (3) This figure reflects budget allocation rather than actual expenditure.

Absence from School

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many Essex pupils had unauthorised absences from school in each of the past five years.

Jim Knight: The information requested is in the following table.
	
		
			  Pupils who took at least one unauthorised absence from maintained mainstream schools in Essex local authority 
			  Number 
			   Primary( 1)  schools  Secondary( 1)  schools 
			 2002 12,680 12,745 
			 2003 13,898 13,494 
			 2004 14,667 16,673 
			 2005 13,737 20,218 
			 2006 14,122 20,685 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. 
		
	
	Unauthorised absence is absence without leave from a teacher or other authorised representative of the school. This includes all unexplained or unjustified absences, such as lateness, holidays during term time not authorised by the school, absence where reason is not yet established and truancy.

Cadet Forces

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the expansion of cadet forces in schools; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  when he will answer the question tabled by the hon. Member for Forest of Dean on 22 November 2006, on cadet forces in schools.

Jim Knight: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is running a pilot project with a small number of state schools to establish new cadet forces (CCF) in these schools. In order to do this the MOD has drawn on an existing list of schools that had already indicated interest. The Department has discussed this list with the MOD early this year.
	Funding for this is being provided directly by the Treasury. The Department has therefore not had any discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer around this project.

Child Asylum Seekers

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether his Department has plans to modify the Unaccompanied Asylum Seeker Children Leaving Care Costs Grant Determination for local authorities who have above average numbers of unaccompanied asylum seeker children in care.

Jim Knight: From its inception in 2004-05 the former Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children Care Leavers Grant has been focused on supporting those authorities which support the largest numbers of such young people. Recently, local authorities were advised by means of my Department's regular bulletin that the qualifying threshold (25 full-time equivalent young people) and the weekly rate (£100) that applied during the 2005-06 grant year will be continued in 2006-07. The effect of this will be to ensure that local authorities with above average numbers are able to access the grant on the same terms as last year.

Child Asylum Seekers

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what consultation took place with local authorities in advance of the issue of his Department's circular 2005-15 on 17 October 2005 and circular 2006-1 on 11 January 2006 on the reform of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeker Children Leaving Care Costs Grant.

Jim Knight: Following the issue of Local Authority Circular (2004)6 in February 2004, representations were received both from individual local authorities and local government representative bodies. In response to these, it was decided to give further consideration to the terms of the 2004-05 former Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children Care Leavers Contingency Grant, including through the carrying out of a survey of local authorities. As a result, the terms of the 2004-05 Contingency Grant were altered, with the changes being confirmed in Local Authority Circular (2005)15. In addition, representations were also made by local authorities and their representative bodies about the basis on which a 2005-06 Grant might be made. These informed the determination of that Grant, which was notified to local authorities through Local Authority Circular (2006)1.

Education Expenditure

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, of 5 December 2006,  Official Report, column 239W, on education expenditure, how the figure given for schools capital investment in 2005-06 was calculated, and how it relates to the figure given on 30 October 2006,  Official Report, column 209W; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The figure given for schools capital investment in 2005-06 on 5 December 2006 was £5.5 billion, in unadjusted cash terms. This comprised grant allocations from the Department of £2.9 billion, supported borrowing allocations of £1.4 billion, and allocations of PFI credits amounting to £1.2 billion.
	The figure for schools capital investment in 2005-06 given on 30 October 2006 was £3,080 million, at 2005-06 price levels. This was taken from local authority returns submitted to the Department for Communities and Local Government.
	The difference between the two figures is one of timing. The allocations figure of £5.5 billion represents the additional financial commitment made to local authorities by the Department in 2005-06, while the £3,080 million figure reflects authorities' actual expenditure within the year, with some of the allocated supported borrowing being delivered by the local authority over a period of years.

Education Supervision Orders

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many education supervision orders were put in place for children with special educational need in  (a) Eastbourne and  (b) East Sussex in each of the last five years.

Jim Knight: The Department does not collect data relating to Education Supervision Orders.

Foreign Language Programmes

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he expects to answer  (a) question 109600, on foreign language programmes, tabled on 12 December 2006 and  (b) question 108545, on the Book Share Scheme, tabled on 7 December 2006 by the hon. Member for Vale of York.

Bill Rammell: My right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families (Beverley Hughes) replied to the hon. Member's question 108545 on 15 January 2007,  Official Report, column 798W. I have responded to the hon. Member's question 109600 today.

GCSEs

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he  (a) is taking and  (b) plans to take to ensure that the schools which did not meet the Government's GCSE targets in 2006 do so in future years.

Jim Knight: All secondary schools are required to set ambitious targets for the performance of their pupils at Key Stage 4—notably the numbers of pupils that will get five or more good GCSEs or equivalent qualifications, and from 2008, the number of pupils that will get five or more good GCSEs or equivalent qualifications including English and maths. School Improvement Partners, typically high quality head teachers, will work closely with a school, ensuring that it identifies the support it needs to evaluate its performance and make improvements that enable all children to fulfil their potential.
	All schools have access to high quality curriculum support and professional development opportunities for staff in the core subjects of English, maths, science and ICT provided by the Government's Secondary National Strategy. The National Strategy also provides expert subject consultant support for those schools facing particular challenges in those subjects. The Government supports programmes that help underperforming schools work in collaboration with excellent schools to drive up their performance, with a particular focus on use of performance data and sharing of good practice. For schools below the Government's minimum floor targets, we have a range of strategies for ensuring the performance of these schools increases rapidly, including the replacement of the school by an Academy, the federation of the school with another stronger, often specialist, school, and bespoke packages of support focusing on improving the leadership and management, teaching and learning at the school. We are monitoring the impact of the support currently in place at each of these schools to ensure that it has the necessary impact. We are also aiming to identify those schools that are currently above our floor targets but are at highest risk of missing them in future years, so we can provide them with additional support now to ensure that their performance improves.
	Our approach has been highly successful—as evidence from the figures published last week suggests—58.5 per cent. of pupils aged 15 achieved 5 A*-C GCSEs or equivalent qualifications in 2006, an increase of 13.4 percentage points since 1997; 45.3 per cent. of pupils achieved this standard including English and maths, a 9.7 percentage point improvement since 1997. The number of all-ability schools where more than 70 per cent. of pupils achieve five or more good GCSEs or equivalent qualifications has risen seven fold since 1997—up from 83 to 604; and the number of schools where fewer than 25 per cent. of pupils achieve this standard is now 47, down from 616 in 1997.

GCSEs

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils attending  (a) mainstream maintained schools and  (b) all schools took (i) English, (ii) mathematics and (iii) any subject at GCSE in 2006.

Jim Knight: The information requested is in the following table:
	
		
			  Number of pupils at the end of key stage 4 entered in English, mathematics, and any subject at GCSE in 2005/06 
			  Thousand 
			  Subject  Maintained mainstream schools  All schools 
			 English 563.7 611.2 
			 Mathematics 570.0 615.3 
			 Any subject 576.2 628.7

History Teaching

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many history graduates entered teacher training to qualify as primary school teachers in each of the last 10 years.

Jim Knight: The following table shows the number of history graduates entering Initial Teacher Training (ITT) courses in order to qualify as primary school teachers in England between 2001/02 and 2004/05.
	
		
			  Number of history graduates entering post graduate initial teacher training to qualify as primary school teachers 
			   History graduates entering teacher training to qualify as primary school teachers 
			 2001/02 720 
			 2002/03 620 
			 2003/04 690 
			 2004/05 660 
			  Notes: 1. Includes universities and other HE institutions, SCITT and OU, but excludes employment based routes. 2. Recruitment numbers shown are rounded to the nearest 10. 3. Figures for 2005/06 will be available in July 2007.  Source: TDA's Performance Profiles.

Joint International Unit

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the budget is of the Joint International Unit; and how much was spent over 2005-06 on recruiting foreign students to UK institutions.

Bill Rammell: The total Joint International Unit budget for programmes in 2005-06 was £34,956,000 and in 2006-07 is £44,185,000. The amount spent through the DFES Prime Minister's Initiative to recruit foreign students to UK institutions was £1,200,000 in 2005-06. The Joint International Unit covers both DWP and DfES international programmes. It is estimated that international students contribute around £5 billion per year to the UK economy.

Parents in Prison

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many children in England are known to have had a parent in prison in  (a) 1996 and  (b) 2006;
	(2)  how many children in England are predicted to have a parent in prison in  (a) 2007 and  (b) 2008.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 15 January 2007
	I have been asked to reply.
	Information on the number of children having a parent in prison is not collected centrally.
	A 2003 resettlement survey of 1,945 adult British national sentenced prisoners showed the average number of children per prisoner was 0.87.
	More detail on the 2003 survey is available in Home Office Research Findings 248 which is available on the RDS website:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/rfpubs1.html

School Libraries

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether it is the policy of his Department that school libraries should include information on students' ethnicity as part of their records of borrowers.

Jim Knight: It is for schools to decide what information school libraries keep on borrowers. For those schools that have Libraries the Department has no policy on the collection and recording of information.

Teaching Assistants

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teaching assistants there were in schools in each local authority in each year from 1997 to 2006.

Jim Knight: The following table provides the number of full-time equivalent teaching assistants employed in local authority maintained schools in England by local authority, January 1997 to 2006.
	
		
			  Full-time equivalent teaching assistants in maintained nursery, primary, secondary, special schools and pupil referral units in England, January 1997 to 2006 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Gateshead 190 200 210 220 300 320 370 350 450 480 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 270 300 310 330 410 330 480 580 700 620 
			 North Tyneside 200 220 220 240 270 180 300 250 290 430 
			 South Tyneside 160 160 160 180 250 350 280 420 440 470 
			 Sunderland 420 400 440 460 610 510 690 750 810 850 
			 Hartlepool 100 110 120 140 210 140 260 250 310 310 
			 Middlesbrough 210 200 180 210 280 360 440 520 530 520 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 150 170 160 170 180 120 200 250 240 380 
			 Stockton on Tees 210 220 230 280 340 210 280 290 380 430 
			 Former Durham 640 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Darlington — 120 130 140 170 200 210 190 270 300 
			 Durham (post 1 April 1997) — 550 580 620 690 650 820 990 1,090 1,100 
			 Northumberland 320 340 380 450 560 650 720 800 910 1,040 
			 North East 2,867 2,990 3,130 3,450 4,280 4,010 5,060 5,630 6,430 6,930 
			
			 Cumbria 610 620 660 730 840 1,100 1,110 1,150 1,200 1,310 
			 Former Cheshire 1,130 1,240 — — — — — — — — 
			 Cheshire (post 1 April 1998) — — 830 870 1,020 1,120 1,230 1,350 1,530 1,740 
			 Halton — — 190 200 240 250 270 320 320 330 
			 Warrington — — 250 270 320 370 380 440 510 630 
			 Bolton 390 430 480 570 650 790 830 950 1,050 1,070 
			 Bury 270 260 280 330 360 460 480 540 590 640 
			 Manchester 740 750 750 810 1,080 1,430 1,610 1,750 1,880 1,920 
			 Oldham 390 410 430 470 560 580 630 690 780 830 
			 Rochdale 260 270 290 340 530 680 710 760 840 860 
			 Salford 430 440 450 480 530 700 570 660 790 780 
			 Stockport 340 360 310 410 510 670 700 750 810 780 
			 Tameside 280 290 310 360 490 360 420 460 520 660 
			 Trafford 190 200 220 230 300 230 300 380 420 440 
			 Wigan 340 390 420 430 560 440 740 800 880 980 
			 Former Lancashire 1,780 2,000 — — — — — — — — 
			 Lancashire (post 1 April 1998) — — 1,670 1,830 2,190 1,960 3,130 3,300 3,570 3,890 
			 Blackburn with Darwen — — 300 350 430 360 530 580 610 650 
			 Blackpool — — 190 220 290 190 390 430 480 480 
			 Knowsley 210 230 260 280 350 470 430 490 480 460 
			 Liverpool 450 490 520 610 920 720 1,150 1,150 1,190 1,130 
			 St. Helens 260 270 290 310 390 420 480 530 640 610 
			 Sefton 360 380 410 470 580 490 650 680 750 780 
			 Wirral 320 350 390 420 570 620 780 790 850 1,020 
			 North West 8,750 9,370 9,920 10,990 13,700 14,400 17,500 18,950 20,700 22,020 
			
			 Kingston-upon-Hull, City of 370 400 440 460 540 510 540 640 880 920 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 340 370 410 470 550 500 650 800 880 950 
			 North East Lincolnshire 220 240 260 310 460 520 570 650 630 690 
			 North Lincolnshire 180 200 240 270 330 430 450 510 550 600 
			 North Yorkshire (post 1 April 1996) 440 540 560 630 800 1,150 1,190 1,410 1,540 1,710 
			 York 140 160 170 220 250 350 370 400 440 500 
			 Barnsley 360 360 360 350 400 610 670 680 680 680 
			 Doncaster 520 460 470 620 640 780 810 860 970 840 
			 Rotherham 280 310 330 410 540 580 770 880 970 900 
			 Sheffield 580 640 710 800 1,080 790 1,200 1,230 1,360 1,590 
			 Bradford 1,240 1,200 1,230 1,370 1,590 1,600 1,870 1,880 1,980 2,000 
			 Calderdale 370 400 420 520 630 720 770 820 880 860 
			 Kirklees 580 620 670 970 1,120 1,160 1,140 1,270 1,390 1,490 
			 Leeds 1,560 1,670 1,670 1,780 1,950 2,380 2,470 2,460 2,550 2,500 
			 Wakefield 540 580 570 650 780 950 960 940 970 1,090 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 7,700 8,160 8,500 9,830 11,660 13,030 14,430 15,420 16,680 17,330 
			
			 Former Derbyshire 1,180 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Derbyshire (post 1 April 1997) — 930 990 1,160 1,460 1,660 1,720 1,820 1,980 2,190 
			 Derby — 360 380 430 510 590 670 760 830 930 
			 Former Leicestershire 940 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Leicestershire (post 1 April 1997) — 580 640 760 920 970 1,190 1,150 1,630 1,730 
			 Leicester — 470 520 540 620 730 900 930 1,120 1,090 
			 Rutland — 50 50 70 70 80 100 100 120 120 
			 Lincolnshire 810 820 890 990 1,250 1,550 1,610 1,980 2,190 2,370 
			 Northamptonshire 810 880 990 1,090 1,330 1,310 1,330 1,360 1,680 1,940 
			 Former Nottinghamshire 1,310 1,420 — — — — — — — — 
			 Nottinghamshire (post 1 April 1998) — — 1,000 1,090 1,350 1,600 1,660 1,770 1,990 2,060 
			 Nottingham — — 540 570 720 770 900 950 1,010 1,060 
			 East Midlands 5,050 5,500 6,010 6,690 8,220 9,270 10,090 10,830 12,560 13,490 
			
			 Former Hereford and Worcester 630 800 — — — — — — — — 
			 Herefordshire — — 190 210 250 190 330 370 410 420 
			 Worcestershire — — 680 760 820 930 1,290 1,450 1,580 1,580 
			 Former Shropshire 510 540 — — — — — — — — 
			 Shropshire (post 1 April 1998) — — 350 390 460 560 640 690 780 750 
			 Telford and Wrekin — — 260 280 370 390 480 530 580 640 
			 Former Staffordshire 1,270 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Staffordshire (post 1 April 1997) — 960 1,060 1,160 1,370 1,310 1,750 1,820 2,070 2,080 
			 Stoke-on-Trent — 460 460 490 540 460 620 750 820 830 
			 Warwickshire 530 630 700 980 1,040 1,240 1,250 1,470 1,590 1,630 
			 Birmingham 2,030 2,080 1,630 1,740 2,170 2,970 3,130 3,320 3,930 4,390 
			 Coventry 390 440 440 670 820 690 640 740 770 770 
			 Dudley 350 410 420 530 680 830 880 960 1,060 1,200 
			 Sandwell 460 460 490 520 650 500 600 650 850 970 
			 Solihull 280 300 300 320 370 410 470 520 610 630 
			 Walsall 380 390 380 440 580 700 810 840 950 820 
			 Wolverhampton 390 400 420 470 570 230 360 480 580 720 
			 West Midlands 7,220 7,870 7,770 8,970 10,670 11,420 13,260 14,600 16,590 17,430 
			
			 Former Cambridgeshire 1,240 1,370 — — — — — — — — 
			 Cambridgeshire (post 1 April 1998) — — 1,000 1,090 1,230 1,420 1,480 1,830 2,020 1,880 
			 Peterborough — — 380 500 540 660 720 780 910 1,050 
			 Norfolk 730 850 930 1,050 1,490 1,710 1,740 1,870 2,310 2,570 
			 Suffolk 500 610 660 770 1,100 920 1,430 1,350 1,460 1,540 
			 Former Bedfordshire 790 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Bedfordshire (post 1 April 1997) — 580 650 710 820 950 1,070 1,140 1,240 1,340 
			 Luton — 290 360 430 530 560 620 720 780 820 
			 Former Essex 1,720 1,840 — — — — — — — — 
			 Essex (post 1 April 1998) — — 1,620 1,760 2,100 3,140 3,500 3,660 3,810 3,920 
			 Southend-on-Sea — — 220 280 350 460 560 600 640 650 
			 Thurrock — — 210 290 340 430 540 550 570 630 
			 Hertfordshire 1,080 1,270 1,250 1,510 1,800 1,740 2,710 2,870 3,110 2,910 
			 East of England 6,060 6,800 7,280 8,380 10,300 12,000 14,370 15,360 16,850 17,290 
			
			 City of London(1) — — — — — — 10 10 10 10 
			 Camden 200 240 250 300 360 440 470 550 580 640 
			 Greenwich 360 400 430 510 650 650 730 750 820 920 
			 Hackney 210 250 290 380 420 490 530 610 680 720 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 190 200 210 250 240 260 300 360 380 430 
			 Islington 250 250 270 350 360 350 480 520 560 620 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 130 140 140 170 210 220 260 270 300 280 
			 Lambeth 300 350 390 500 560 580 640 720 770 750 
			 Lewisham 280 290 320 410 570 470 560 620 670 720 
			 Southwark 350 420 430 650 810 750 710 900 1,030 1,070 
			 Tower Hamlets 370 400 450 510 800 970 950 1,070 1,150 1,320 
			 Wandsworth 330 370 370 460 470 380 530 590 730 800 
			 Westminster 150 170 160 190 190 310 280 330 420 370 
			 Barking and Dagenham 300 290 310 320 400 500 510 560 540 560 
			 Barnet 290 340 400 480 550 740 720 850 980 1,070 
			 Bexley 200 230 280 310 380 320 560 550 600 570 
			 Brent 260 300 360 390 440 450 470 560 640 680 
			 Bromley 210 230 230 270 360 440 500 520 550 620 
			 Croydon 400 410 510 530 660 630 870 950 1,010 980 
			 Ealing 340 360 370 400 510 450 530 630 690 670 
			 Enfield 250 290 290 500 590 810 880 970 1,050 1,160 
			 Haringey 350 360 380 420 490 650 680 810 900 960 
			 Harrow 270 270 290 300 300 330 430 480 540 550 
			 Havering 170 170 200 260 300 310 520 590 680 660 
			 Hillingdon 300 340 380 420 510 520 590 620 740 800 
			 Hounslow 280 280 290 330 380 400 400 550 580 680 
			 Kingston upon Thames 130 130 150 170 220 220 250 310 360 380 
			 Merton 190 200 220 240 290 250 300 370 530 460 
			 Newham 280 280 390 500 960 720 1,070 1,190 1,300 980 
			 Redbridge 190 230 270 370 450 580 620 730 820 910 
			 Richmond upon Thames 100 110 110 130 160 210 220 250 330 350 
			 Sutton 160 170 210 230 260 340 310 360 430 360 
			 Waltham Forest 380 400 410 470 490 610 640 670 780 760 
			 London 8,160 8,870 9,790 11,740 14,330 15,340 17,510 19,800 22,140 22,820 
			
			 Former Berkshire 940 970 — — — — — — — — 
			 Bracknell Forest — — 140 130 170 110 190 190 210 220 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead — — 150 160 220 210 220 280 300 330 
			 West Berkshire — — 190 200 230 330 350 430 530 490 
			 Reading — — 200 200 240 280 280 280 320 250 
			 Slough — — 230 250 300 340 440 450 530 530 
			 Wokingham — — 210 220 230 290 290 360 380 380 
			 Former Buckinghamshire 650 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Buckinghamshire (post 1 April 1997) — 460 470 490 570 750 710 840 950 1,100 
			 Milton Keynes — 260 270 280 300 310 450 530 530 680 
			 Former East Sussex 700 — — — — — — — — — 
			 East Sussex (post 1 April 1997) — 490 560 650 720 1,000 1,070 1,350 1,380 1,330 
			 Brighton and Hove — 270 310 320 380 410 370 400 460 510 
			 Former Hampshire 2,560 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Hampshire (post 1 April 1997) — 1,880 1,920 1,960 2,120 2,900 3,010 3,160 3,280 3,210 
			 Portsmouth — 330 400 410 480 600 600 630 830 660 
			 Southampton — 370 430 470 490 610 630 640 660 660 
			 Isle of Wight 160 210 250 270 320 300 360 370 450 430 
			 Former Kent 2,330 2,490 — — — — — — — — 
			 Kent (post 1 April 1998) — — 2,210 2,470 2,750 3,620 4,160 4,330 4,860 4,660 
			 Medway — — 440 670 830 710 830 900 960 930 
			 Oxfordshire 780 830 860 930 1,030 1,080 1,280 1,440 1,670 1,630 
			 Surrey 1,170 1,290 1,360 1,500 1,570 1,960 2,350 2,390 2,610 2,720 
			 West Sussex 530 650 670 710 780 1,090 1,310 1,330 1,480 1,660 
			 South East 9,830 10,480 11,250 12,290 13,720 16,910 18,890 20,300 22,400 22,360 
			
			 Isles of Scilly — — — — 10 — 10 10 — — 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 170 170 160 160 180 70 100 80 170 270 
			 City of Bristol 650 700 690 770 850 920 920 1,040 1,110 1,110 
			 North Somerset 190 220 220 260 290 310 380 380 450 430 
			 South Gloucestershire 270 280 300 350 430 480 560 550 590 640 
			 Cornwall 790 870 960 980 990 1,000 1,170 1,190 1,860 1,630 
			 Former Devon 810 960 — — — — — — — — 
			 Devon (post 1 April 1998) — — 630 770 1,020 1,360 1,740 2,090 2,190 2,380 
			 Plymouth — — 320 310 720 660 710 650 750 870 
			 Torbay — — 140 170 180 200 220 290 280 300 
			 Former Dorset 430 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Dorset (post 1 April 1997) — 330 390 580 660 780 890 1,180 1,300 1,350 
			 Poole — 110 150 180 220 400 390 430 420 460 
			 Bournemouth — 130 170 210 240 380 380 410 400 460 
			 Gloucestershire 470 490 550 590 740 710 750 700 910 1,030 
			 Somerset 610 660 680 710 830 920 990 980 1,100 1,380 
			 Former Wiltshire 530 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Wiltshire (post 1 April 1997) — 340 350 350 410 560 650 780 750 750 
			 Swindon — 240 230 260 310 220 220 410 370 380 
			 South West 4,940 5,490 5,940 6,670 8,090 8,980 10,070 11,160 12,650 13,440 
			
			 England 60,580 65,540 69,600 79,020 94,990 105,360 121,190 132,060 147,000 153,100 
			 (1) City of London did not make a return in 2002.  Notes: 1. The first, second and third phases of local government reorganisation came into effect on 1 April 1996, 1 April 1997 and 1 April 1998 respectively. The new authorities are shown directly below their former parent local education authorities. 2. Totals are rounded to the nearest 10. 3. Totals may not appear equal to the sum of the component parts because of rounding.  Source: Annual Schools' Census (ASC).

Violent Crime Reduction Bill

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what resources will be made available to schools for the screening of pupils for weapons under the terms of the Violent Crime Reduction Bill; how these resources will be allocated; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  when he expects to publish guidance to head teachers on the implementation of the screening of pupils for weapons under the terms of the Violent Crime Reduction Bill; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: We expect to publish draft guidance for public consultation in the next few weeks, and final guidance in the spring. This will cover both the power to search pupils for weapons on suspicion which will commence later this year under the Education Act 1996 as amended (inserted by the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006), and screening pupils for weapons without suspicion following the policy announced in this House on 16 October 2006,  Official Report, column 41WS. DfES has not imposed any new duty on schools in England to search or screen pupils. Schools wishing to search or screen pupils should fund this from their overall resources; they have received a good funding settlement in Dedicated Schools Grant for 2006-07 and 2007-08. The national average per pupil increased 14 per cent. over the two years.

Bank Accounts

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the percentage of people aged  (a) 18 to 25,  (b) 26 to 50,  (c) 51 to 65,  (d) 66 to 85 and  (e) over 85 years who have a bank account in each region and county in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Edward Balls: The most recent data available that allow assessment to be made of levels of bank account holding is the Family Resources Survey from 2002-03. The information in the survey is at household level, not individual level, and shows that 92 per cent. of households in the United Kingdom had an account in that year.
	These data are broken down to Government Office regional level:
	
		
			  Government Office Region  Households with any type of account (percentage) 
			 North East 89 
			 North West and Merseyside 91 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 91 
			 East Midlands 90 
			 West Midlands 90 
			 Eastern 96 
			 London 91 
			 South East 96 
			 South West 97 
			 England 93 
			 Wales 90 
			 Scotland 92 
			 Northern Ireland 83 
			 United Kingdom 92 
		
	
	The data can also be broken down by the age of the Household Reference Person (the owner of the household property, or the household member with the highest income):
	
		
			  Age of Household Reference Person  Households with any type of account (percentage) 
			 16 to 24 87 
			 25 to 34 92 
			 35 to 44 93 
			 45 to 54 94 
			 55 to 59 93 
			 60 to 64 92 
			 65 to 74 93 
			 75 to 84 91 
			 85 or over 88 
			 All households 92

Debt

Ann McKechin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was received by the Government from  (a) low and  (b) lower middle income countries in 2005-06 on debts owed to (i) the Export Credits Guarantee Department, including debts that have been rescheduled after Paris Club agreements, and (ii) HM Treasury, broken down by country; and how much is expected to be received in each category in 2006-07.

Edward Balls: The following table shows how much was received by the Export Credits Guarantee Department from  (a) low and  (b) lower middle income countries in 2005-06 and how much is expected to be received in 2006-07. All amounts received and expected are in respect of debts that have been rescheduled after Paris Club agreements. There are no debts outstanding specifically to the Treasury.
	
		
			  £ million 
			  Category  Country  2005-06 paid  2006-07 expected 
			 Low Income Kenya 0.56 1.27 
			  Nigeria 1045.72 656.94 
			  Pakistan 1.43 1.34 
			  Vietnam 0.78 0.83 
			 
			 Lower Middle Income Algeria 20.23 119.64 
			  Angola — 91.59 
			  Bosnia and Herzegovina 0.06 0.08 
			  Brazil 176.96 — 
			  Ecuador 8.95 7.3 
			  Egypt 12.93 13.48 
			  Jordan 7.54 22.8 
			  Macedonia 0.55 0.48 
			  Morocco 6.55 4.70 
			  Peru 57.18 2.88 
			  Philippines 2.86 2.59 
			  Serbia and Montenegro 5.98 6.0 
			 (1) Includes received and anticipated payments. 
		
	
	To note that the receipt from Nigeria of £656.94 million was the final instalment paid under the terms of the 20 October 2005 Paris Club debt agreement that saw some $18 billion cancelled (equivalent to about 60 per cent. of Nigeria's debt in the Paris Club) in return for Nigeria using part of its oil windfall to pay off its remaining debt. This debt deal represented the largest single debt relief package ever for sub-Saharan Africa.

EU Finance

Michael Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total gross contribution made by the Government to the EU was in  (a) the most recent year for which figures are available and  (b) each of the last five years; how much the UK has contributed to the EU since joining the organisation; and what this figure represents per head of population.

Edward Balls: The United Kingdom's gross contribution to the EC budget, after taking account of the United Kingdom abatement, in calendar years 2001 to 2005 can be found in Table 3 (page 46) of the annual European Community Finances White Paper (Cm 6770) published in May 2006. Over the period 1973 to 2005 the United Kingdom's total gross contribution, after taking account of the United Kingdom abatement, was £136,661 million. Based on Eurostat population figures for the United Kingdom in 2005 (60,034.5 thousand) the total contribution equates to £2,276 per head, an average of £69 per year over the 33-year period.

EU Finance

Michael Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the UK received from the EU in  (a) the most recent year for which figures are available and  (b) each of the last five years; for what purposes payments were made; how much as a percentage of total receipts by member states the UK has received since joining the organisation; and what this figure represents per head of population.

Edward Balls: Figures for UK public sector receipts from the EC Budget in calendar years 2001 to 2005 can be found in table 3 (page 46) of the annual "European Community Finances" White Paper (Cm 6770) published in May 2006. This table also shows the EC programmes to which these receipts relate. Over the period 1973 to 2005 the United Kingdom's total public sector receipts were £78,866 million. Based on EUROSTAT population figures for the United Kingdom in 2005 (60,034.5 thousand) the total receipts equate to £1,314 per head, an average of £40 per year over the 33-year period. Figures for the total level of the EC Budget over the period 1973 to 1975 are not readily available.
	However, based on figures published by the European Court of Auditors/European Commission, total UK receipts over the period 1976 to 2005 amount to 8.8 per cent. of total member state contributions to the EC Budget over that period and to 64.9 per cent. of UK contributions over the period. UK receipts amount to 9.5 per cent. of total receipts paid to member states over the 1976 to 2005 period.

Unemployment: Luton, South

Margaret Moran: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what percentage of young people in Luton, South were unemployed in each year since 1997.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 23 January 2007:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about unemployment. (116708)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of unemployment for parliamentary constituencies from the annual local area Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation definitions.
	Table 1, attached below, shows the number of unemployed people, aged 16 to 24, resident in the Luton South constituency, for the 12 months ending in February from 1997 to 2004, from the annual local area LFS and for the 12 months ending in March 2005 and 2006, from the APS and the corresponding unemployment rates which are defined as the number of unemployed expressed as a percentage of the economically active population in the relevant age group.
	As these estimates are for a subset of the population in a small geographical area, they are based on very small sample sizes, and are therefore subject to large margins of uncertainty. In this case, the sample sizes are not sufficient to give an accurate estimate of even the direction of the change over the period.
	ONS also compiles statistics for local areas of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA). Table 2, attached, shows the annual average number of people aged 18 to 24, resident in the Luton South constituency, claiming JSA from 1997 to 2006.
	
		
			  Table 1: Unemployed persons, aged 16 to 24, resident in the Luton South constituency 
			  Thousand 
			  12 months ending:  Level  Rate( 1)  (percentage) 
			 February 1997 1 18.6 
			 February 1998 (2)— (2)— 
			 February 1999 (2)— (2)— 
			 February 2000 1 8.8 
			 February 2001 2 19.7 
			 February 2002 2 18.8 
			 February 2003 2 21.6 
			 February 2004 2 19.2 
			 March 2005 1 15.2 
			 March 2006 1 9.7 
			 (1) Unemployed as a percentage of the economically active population. (2) Sample size too small to provide estimates.  Notes: 1. Estimates are subject to random variability. 2. Changes in the estimates over time should be treated with particular caution.  Source: Annual local area Labour Force Survey; Annual Population survey. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Annual average number of claimants of jobseeker's allowance aged 18 to 24, resident in the Luton South constituency 
			   Number 
			 1997 780 
			 1998 595 
			 1999 510 
			 2000 435 
			 2001 410 
			 2002 460 
			 2003 550 
			 2004 540 
			 2005 600 
			 2006 710 
			  Source: Jobcentre Plus administrative data.

Air Services

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passengers were carried between Edinburgh airport and London City airport in the last year for which figures are available; and how many of those passengers travelled  (a) economy and  (b) business class.

Gillian Merron: The estimated number of passengers carried between Edinburgh airport and London City airport in 2005 were as follows:
	
		
			  Edinburgh to/from London City: 
			  Class  Number( 1) 
			 Business(2) 16,000 
			 Economy(3) 201,000 
			 Other(4) 20,000 
			 Total passengers 237,000 
			 (1) Nearest thousand. (2) Includes business, club and first class tickets. (3) Includes Economy (full fare and other), frequent flier scheme, inclusive/package tour, charter seat only and standby tickets. (4) Includes other and non-response.  Source: CAA Passenger Survey (Edinburgh airport survey, 2005)

Air Services

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passengers were carried between Dundee airport and  (a) London City airport and  (b) Manchester International airport in the most recent year for which figures are available; and how many of those passengers travelled (i) economy and (ii) business class.

Gillian Merron: The estimated number of passengers carried between Dundee airport and London City and Manchester airports in 2003 were as follows:
	
		
			  Number( 1) 
			  Class  Dundee to/from London City  Dundee to/from Manchester 
			 Business(2) 8,000 0 
			 Economy(3) 39,000 1,000 
			 Other- — 0 
			 Total passengers 47,000 1,000 
			 (1) Nearest thousand. (2). Includes business, club and first class tickets. (3) Includes Economy (full fare and other), frequent flier scheme, inclusive/package tour, charter seat only and standby tickets. (4) Includes other and non-response.  Source: CAA Passenger Survey (London City airport survey, 2003 and Manchester airport survey, 2003)

Air Services

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passengers were carried between Edinburgh airport and  (a) Luton,  (b) Stansted,  (c) Gatwick,  (d) Heathrow,  (e) Manchester International,  (f) Birmingham International,  (g) Leeds Bradford International and  (h) Nottingham East Midlands airports in the most recent year for which figures are available; and how many of those passengers travelled by (i) economy and (ii) business class.

Gillian Merron: The estimated number of passengers carried between Edinburgh airport and Luton, Stansted, Gatwick, Heathrow, Manchester International, Birmingham International, Leeds Bradford International and Nottingham East Midlands airports in 2005 were as follows:
	
		
			 ( 1) Number 
			   Class  
			   Business( 2)  Economy( 3)  Other( 4)  Total 
			  Edinburgh to/from: 
			 Luton 1,000 442,000 34,000 476,000 
			 Stansted — 488,000 36,000 525,000 
			 London Gatwick 27,000 676,000 55,000 758,000 
			 London Heathrow 73,000 1,411,000 152,000 1,636,000 
			 Manchester International 16,000 238,000 32,000 286,000 
			 Birmingham International 6,000 390,000 29,000 425,000 
			 Leeds Bradford International 4,000 47,000 1,000 52,000 
			 Nottingham East Midlands 0 220,000 20,000 241,000 
			 (1) Nearest thousand. (2) Includes business, club and first class tickets. (3) Includes Economy (full fare and other), frequent flier scheme, inclusive/package tour, charter seat only and standby tickets. (4) Includes other and non-response. Source: CAA passenger Survey (Edinburgh airport survey, 2005)

Air Services

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passengers were carried between Glasgow airport and  (a) London Heathrow,  (b) Manchester International,  (c) Birmingham International,  (d) Leeds Bradford International and  (e) Nottingham East Midlands airports in the most recent year for which figures are available; and how many of those passengers travelled by (i) economy and (ii) business class.

Gillian Merron: The estimated number of passengers carried between Glasgow airport and London Heathrow, Manchester International, Birmingham International, Leeds Bradford International and Nottingham East Midlands airports in 2005 were as follows:
	
		
			  Number( 1)  
			   Class  
			   Business( 2)  Economy( 3)  Other( 4)  Total 
			  Glasgow to/from: 
			 London Heathrow 75,000 1,280,000 68,000 1,423,000 
			 Manchester International 13,000 152,000 4,000 169,000 
			 Birmingham International 5,000 261,000 3,000 269,000 
			 Leeds Bradford International 12,000 31,000 0 43,000 
			 Nottingham East Midlands — 166,000 3,000 170,000 
			 (1) Nearest thousand. (2) Includes business, club and first class tickets. (3) Includes Economy (full fare and other), frequent flier scheme, inclusive/package tour, charter seat only and standby tickets. (4) Includes other and non-response.  Source: CAA passenger Survey (Glasgow airport survey, 2005)

Railways

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what the  (a) location,  (b) value and  (c) the purchaser are of British Railways Board (Residuary) Ltd land and buildings sold since May 1997;
	(2)  what the  (a) location and  (b) estimated value is of British Railways Board (Residuary) Ltd land and buildings that he intends to dispose of by 2011.

Tom Harris: The location of all properties held by BRB (Residuary) Ltd. (BRB(R), including those sold since May 1997 can be found on the BRB(R) website at www.brb.gov.uk . The company also holds some 4,000 structures such as bridges and tunnels over and under disused railway lines. A list showing the location of these is in the Library of the House.
	Between 1996-07 and 2005-06 BRB(R) has sold in excess of 680 sites which have generated proceeds of approximately £480 million. In view of the large number of sites and the timescales involved details of individual purchasers can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	As at 31 March 2006 the book value of BRB(R)'s non operational land and buildings was £154 million. However, the company also has interests in a number of administrative office buildings which are held on historic onerous leases. The company has made a provision of £143 million to cover this liability.
	The actual proceeds from future sales will be dependant on a number of factors such as any restrictions placed on sales by the autonomous Property Review Group and market conditions at the time of sale. DfT guidance on the operation of the Property Review Group can also be found on BRB(R)'s website.

Railways

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will initiate an investigation into the operation of the new Great Western franchise, with particular reference to  (a) reliability,  (b) punctuality and  (c) the new timetable; and if he will investigate the current performance of (i) First Great Western and (ii) Network Rail.

Tom Harris: I hold meetings regularly with First Great Western and Network Rail to assess performance. Joint action plans are in place between Network Rail and FGW to address performance issues. These are monitored monthly.
	Network Rail is regulated by the Office of Rail Regulation ('ORR'). ORR has been investigating performance on the western routes.

ASBOs

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders were issued in each London borough in each of the last four years; how many have been breached in each case; how many breaches have resulted in a period of detention or imprisonment in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: A table giving the number of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued annually, as reported to the Home Office by the Court Service, by the local government authority area in which prohibitions have been imposed, up to 31 December 2005 (latest available), can be found on the Crime Reduction website at:
	www.crimereduction.gov.uk.
	ASBO breach data are not available at local authority level. The available information is given in the table.
	
		
			  Number of antisocial behaviour orders issued between 2002 and 2005 in the Greater London Criminal Justice System (CJS) area and the number subsequently proven in court to have been breached 
			   Year in which ASBO issued 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Total issued 21 139 441 528 
			  of which: 
			 Breached(1) 11 68 215 155 
			  of which: 
			 Given a custodial sentence(2) 8 49 121 78 
			 (1) On at least one occasion by the end of 2005. (2) On at least one occasion.  Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Sources:  ASBOs issued: Court Service. ASBOs breached: OCJR Court Proceedings Database.

Ashfield Young Offender Institution

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many child protection referrals have been made by Ashfield Young Offender Institution since 2004; and what the  (a) issue and  (b) outcome was in each case.

Gerry Sutcliffe: There have been a total of 204 child protection referrals from HMP and YOI Ashfield since November 2004. The issues involved and outcomes are detailed in the following table.
	
		
			   Number 
			  Issue  
			 Allegation against staff 71 
			 YP on YP assault 48 
			 Risk to child in community 42 
			 Historical abuse disclosure 40 
			 Risk to public due to index offence 3 
			   
			  Outcome  
			 Referred to South Gloucestershire Social Services prior to social worker start date but no known outcome 58 
			 Closed by internal senior social worker following referral(1) 105 
			 No action by South Gloucestershire Social Services internal investigation 35 
			 Section 47 investigation under the Children Act 1989 requested by South Gloucestershire Social Services 6 
			 (1 )Since January 2006 HMP and YOI Ashfield has employed the services of a senior social worker to accept initial referrals and to determine whether these need to be passed on to South Gloucestershire Social Services for further consideration.

Ashfield Young Offender Institution

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young people were held in segregation in Ashfield Young Offender Institution in each month since January 2005; and how many have been so held for more than  (a) seven and  (b) 28 days since 2004.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The figures requested are included in the following tables.
	
		
			  Number held in reorientation since 2005 
			   Number 
			  2005  
			 January 25 
			 February 23 
			 March 19 
			 April 14 
			 May 41 
			 June 41 
			 July 43 
			 August 31 
			 September 35 
			 October 40 
			 November 35 
			 December 29 
			   
			  2006  
			 January 30 
			 February 22 
			 March 23 
			 April 20 
			 May 27 
			 June 26 
			 July 24 
			 August 24 
			 September 37 
			 October 38 
			 November 28 
			 December 34 
		
	
	
		
			  Number held in reorientation for more than seven days and 28 days since January 2004 
			   Number 
			 Held for more than seven days 276 
			 Held for more than 28 days 21

Ashfield Young Offender Institution

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times control and restraint was used in Ashfield Young Offender Institution in each month since January 2005.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The figures requested are included in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of times control and restraint was used in Ashfield YOI in each month since January 2005 
			  Month  Number 
			  2005  
			 January 11 
			 February 19 
			 March 18 
			 April 23 
			 May 34 
			 June 35 
			 July 29 
			 August 40 
			 September 42 
			 October 44 
			 November 48 
			 December 27 
			  2006  
			 January 44 
			 February 30 
			 March 25 
			 April 25 
			 May 33 
			 June 24 
			 July 30 
			 August 44 
			 September 37 
			 October 44 
			 November 40 
			 December 26

Crime Statistics

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions there have been since 1996 for  (a) the murder of a child or young person under 18,  (b) the manslaughter of a child or young person under 18,  (c) common assault and battery and  (d) cruelty to a person under 16 where the prosecuted person had parental responsibility for the victim, or was the partner of the person with parental responsibility.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 11 January 2007
	Data from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform on the number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts in England and Wales for offences relating to cruelty or neglect of children for the years 1996 to 2005, are provided in the following table.
	Information on the familial relationship between defendant and victim is not held centrally. From the court proceedings database it is also not possible to identify the number of prosecutions for common assault and battery where victims were under 18 years of age.
	Suspects indicted for homicide by outcome of proceedings, where the victim was under 18 years old, England and Wales, 1995 to 2004-05 can be found in the following table.
	Latest data from the Homicide Index were published in table 2.09 of "Violent Crime Overview, Homicide and Gun Crime 2004/2005" (HOSB 02/06). The table provided shows the number of suspects indicted where the victim was aged under 18.
	
		
			  Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for offences relating to cruelty or neglect of children in England and Wales, 1996-2005( 1, 2) 
			Proceeded against 
			  Statute  Offence description  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Children and Young Persons Act 1933 Sec 1 Cruelty or neglect of children 503 608 710 839 750 662 787 955 921 836 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: RDS Office for Criminal Justice Reform 
		
	
	
		
			  Suspects indicted for homicide by outcome of proceedings( 1) , where victim under 18 years old, England and Wales, 1995 to 2004-05( 2,) 
			  Number 
			  Indictment and outcome  1995  1996  1997  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			  All suspects
			  Indictment( 3)
			 Murder 61 71 86 71 83 58 88 57 65 49 18 
			 Manslaughter(4) 15 28 24 23 18 22 33 14 21 8 5 
			 Infanticide 1 2 0 1 4 0 1 1 1 0 1 
			 Total 77 101 110 95 105 80 122 72 87 57 24 
			 
			  Outcome:
			  Not convicted of homicide( 5)
			 Not tried - count to remain on file(6) 0 1 7 6 6 0 6 1 3 0 0 
			 Found unfit to plead 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 
			 Found not guilty by reason of insanity 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Convicted of lesser offence 2 4 12 6 3 6 6 1 4 1 0 
			 Acquitted on all counts 19 19 19 15 23 17 21 12 25 17 6 
			 Committed suicide or died 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 23 24 38 27 33 24 36 14 32 18 6 
			 
			  Convicted of homicide:
			 Murder 30 24 36 34 27 33 27 26 22 18 10 
			 Sec. 2 manslaughter 6 6 6 7 3 3 1 3 1 1 1 
			 Other manslaughter 15 43 27 23 35 19 53 28 32 20 6 
			 Infanticide 3 4 3 4 7 1 5 1 0 0 1 
			 Total 54 77 72 68 72 56 86 58 55 39 18 
			 
			 Total 77 101 110 95 105 80 122 72 87 57 24 
			 (1). As at 28 November 2005; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and the courts, or as further information becomes available. Figures for 2003-04 and 2004-05 are therefore likely to rise as cases progress through court. (2) Offences are shown by the year in which they were initially recorded by police as homicide. This is not necessarily the year in which the incident took place or the year in which any court decision was made. (3) In addition there were 402 suspects in 2004-05, for whom court proceedings were not completed by 28 November 2005. (4) Three corporate manslaughters were included in 2000-01 and one in 2001-02. (5) The offences for which these persons were indicted may nevertheless remain currently recorded as homicide. (6) This usually implies that the suspect has been dealt with for some less serious offence.  Source: Based on table 2.09 of "Violent Crime Overview, Homicide and Gun Crime 2004/2005" (HOSB 02/06).

Driving Without Insurance

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) community penalties and  (b) disqualifications were imposed on people driving without insurance in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: Available information taken from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform, for the offence of 'using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks', from 2000-2004 (latest available) is provided in the following table.
	2005 data will be available later this year.
	
		
			  Findings of guilt at all courts for the offence of using a motor vehicle unisured against third party risks( 1)  community penalties imposed( 2)  and total disqualifications imposed( 3)  from driving, England and Wales 2000-04 
			  Number of offences 
			   2000  2001  2002  2003( 4)  2004 
			 Total findings of guilt 264,874 266,757 289,064 323,374 322,814 
			 of which:  
			 Community penalties imposed(2) 164 6,725 11,109 12,896 11,458 
			 Disqualifications imposed(3) 31,397 42,843 53,003 53,606 50,313 
			 (1) An offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s. 143 (2) (2) For 2000 includes probation or supervision order, community service order, attendance centre order, drug treatment and testing order. As from 2001 includes community rehabilitation or supervision order, community punishment order, attendance centre order, community punishment and rehabilitation order, curfew order, reparation order, action plan order, drug treatment and testing order and referral order. (3) Disqualifications are imposed as a secondary disposal. (4) As from 1 June 2003, 'driving a motor vehicle while uninsured against third party risks' became a fixed penalty offence.  Notes: 1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete. Work is underway to ensure that the magistrates' courts case management system currently being implemented by the Department for Constitutional Affairs reports all motoring offences to the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. This will enable more complete figures to be disseminated. 2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their limitations are taken into account when these data are used.

Driving Without Insurance

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many £200 fixed penalties were offered to people driving without insurance instead of a court summons in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many fines were imposed for driving without insurance in each of the last five years; and what the average fine was in each year.

Vernon Coaker: Available information taken from the fixed penalty notices collection and the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform, from 2000-04 (latest available) is provided in the following table.
	2005 data will be available later this year.
	
		
			  Total number of fixed penalty notices issued( 1,2) , fines( 3)  and average fines imposed at all courts for the offence of using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks( 4) , England and Wales, 2000-04 
			   2000  2001  2002  2003( 1)  2004 
			 Fixed penalty notices issued(1,2) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Total number of court fines(3) 178,300 177,000 189,000 217,300 227,600 
			 Average court fine (£) 203 150 155 160 169 
			 n/a = not applicable (1 )Fixed penalty of 200 introduced as from 1 June 2003. (2 )Only covers tickets paid where there is no further action. (3 )May include cases where fixed penalty notices were originally issued but not paid and subsequently referred to court. (4 )Offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s. 143 (2).  Notes: 1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete. Work is underway to ensure that the magistrates' courts case management system currently being implemented by the Department for Constitutional Affairs reports all motoring offences to the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. This will enable more complete figures to be disseminated. 2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their limitations are taken into account when these data are used.

Fireworks

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many successful prosecutions have been made for  (a) illegal purchase of fireworks,  (b) illegal use of fireworks and  (c) use of fireworks as a weapon likely to cause human harm in each of the last two years, broken down by police authority area.

Vernon Coaker: The court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform is unable to provide conviction data for the illegal purchase of fireworks, as there is no such offence. The number of persons found guilty of throwing, casting or firing fireworks, broken down by police force area, is shown in Table 1. The offence of using adult fireworks during night hours is coded with a wide range of other fireworks offences within the Fireworks Act 2003, and separate conviction data therefore cannot be provided. Cases involving the use of fireworks as a weapon likely to cause human harm cannot be separated, as data is not held to that level of detail.
	In addition, penalty notices for disorder can be issued for a range of fireworks offences. The offence of throwing a firework in a public thoroughfare came into force on 8 August 2002; the offence of breach of the fireworks curfew was added to the PND Scheme on 11 October 2004. The number of penalty notices issued for these two offences for the years 2004-06 (January to June 2006—provisional) is included in Table 2.
	
		
			  Number of defendants found guilty of selected firework offences, in England and Wales, 2004 and 2005, broken down by police force area( 1,2,3) 
			   2004  2005 
			  Throwing, casting or firing any fireworks in or onto any highway, street, etc, public place   
			 Avon and Somerset — 2 
			 Cheshire 1 — 
			 Cleveland 2 1 
			 Cumbria 1 1 
			 Devon and Cornwall 2 1 
			 Dorset — 1 
			 Durham 1 2 
			 Essex 1 2 
			 Greater Manchester 2 2 
			 Humberside 2 — 
			 Kent 1 1 
			 Lancashire 4 1 
			 Leicestershire 3 2 
			 Lincolnshire 4 1 
			 Merseyside 2 — 
			 Metropolitan police 3 — 
			 North Yorkshire 1 1 
			 Northumbria 4 2 
			 Nottinghamshire 1 — 
			 South Yorkshire 4 1 
			 Staffordshire 1 — 
			 Suffolk 1 2 
			 Surrey — 1 
			 Sussex 1 — 
			 Thames Valley 1 — 
			 West Midlands 3 — 
			 West Yorkshire 3 1 
			 Gwent — 1 
			 North Wales 1 — 
			 South Wales 5 — 
			 Total 55 26 
			
			  Contravening a prohibition imposed by fireworks regulations( 4)   
			 Greater Manchester 0 3 
			 Lancashire 0 1 
			 Leicestershire 1 0 
			 Metropolitan police 5 7 
			 Northumbria 0 2 
			 South Yorkshire 1 0 
			 Warwickshire 0 1 
			 West Midlands 1 0 
			 Dyfed-Powys 0 2 
			 Gwent 0 1 
			 South Wales 0 1 
			 Total 8 18 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis.  (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces and courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  (3) Where a police force area has not been listed, there have been no convictions.  (4) "Contravening a prohibition imposed by fireworks regulations" comprises a number of different offences. These include "Using adult fireworks during night hours when not exempt by 7(2)", "Prohibition of supply of fireworks", "Prohibition of supply of certain fireworks to the general public" and "Prohibition of supply of excessively loud category 3 fireworks". It is however not possible to separate these offences, as data is not collected to that level of detail. 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of persons issued with penalty notices for disorder for selected firework offences, England and Wales, 2004 and 2005, and provisional data for January to June 2006( 1,2) 
			   2004  2005  January to June 2006( 2) 
			  Police force area  Throwing fireworks  Breach of fireworks curfew  Throwing fireworks  Breach of fireworks curfew  Throwing fireworks  Breach of fireworks curfew 
			 Avon and Somerset 1 1 — 1 1 — 
			 Bedfordshire — — 2 — 2 — 
			 Cambridgeshire 2 — 2 — 2 — 
			 Cheshire 2 — 5 — — — 
			 Cleveland 1 — 11 2 — 1 
			 Cumbria — — 5 — 2 — 
			 Derbyshire 3 1 4 — 2 — 
			 Devon and Cornwall 2 — 15 4 12 — 
			 Dorset — — 8 1 9 — 
			 Durham — — 2 — — — 
			 Essex 6 1 15 — 6 — 
			 Gloucestershire — 1 1 1 1 2 
			 Greater Manchester 9 — 44 — 30 — 
			 Hampshire 4 1 10 2 4 — 
			 Hertfordshire — — 7 — 4 — 
			 Humberside 2 — 5 1 1 — 
			 Kent 2 — 15 1 5 — 
			 Lancashire 14 2 25 2 4 1 
			 Leicestershire 2 1 1 — — — 
			 Lincolnshire 5 — 35 4 12 1 
			 London, City of — — 1 — — — 
			 Merseyside 26 — 87 2 19 1 
			 Metropolitan 25 — 78 1 25 1 
			 Norfolk 1 — 2 — — — 
			 North Yorkshire 1 — 1 — 1 — 
			 Northamptonshire 2 — 7 1 — 1 
			 Northumbria — — 5 — 4 — 
			 Nottinghamshire — — 7 — 1 — 
			 South Yorkshire 8 1 13 1 7 1 
			 Staffordshire 6 — 15 1 17 — 
			 Suffolk 2 — 3 — 2 — 
			 Surrey — — 2 — — — 
			 Sussex 9 — 57 5 16 2 
			 Thames Valley 3 — 36 — 6 — 
			 Warwickshire 3 — 3 — — — 
			 West Mercia — — 9 — 5 — 
			 West Midlands 7 1 25 — 8 — 
			 West Yorkshire 18 — 34 1 6 — 
			 Wiltshire 1 — 2 — 4 — 
			 Dyfed-Powys 1 — 3 — 3 — 
			 Gwent 1 1 12 — 5 — 
			 North Wales 8 1 20 2 6 — 
			 South Wales — — 8 — — — 
			 England and Wales 177 12 642 33 232 11 
			 (1) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (2) Data for 2006 is from January to June only and is provisional.

Highly Skilled Migrant Visas

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many highly skilled migrant visas have been issued in each of the last five years; to people of which nationalities they have been issued; and in which categories they have been issued.

Liam Byrne: The following table provides detail of the numbers of approvals, by country of origin of the application, issued under the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP) for each calendar year since the programme was launched on 28 January 2002, including applications approved in the year to September 2006. These approvals allow individuals to apply for leave to enter or leave to remain in the United Kingdom as highly skilled migrants.
	These data are derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.
	HSMP is designed to allow highly skilled individuals with exceptional skills and experience to seek to enter or stay to work in the UK, without having a prior offer of employment, or to take up self-employment opportunities here. We are therefore unable to record which category of work they enter. The table gives numbers for each year by the country of origin on the application and does not, therefore, necessarily reflect the nationality of the applicant. Applications from European countries appear where non EU nationals are resident in those countries.
	
		
			  HSMP approved applications January 2002-September 2006, by country of origin of application and calendar year( 1) 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  Total 
			 Afghanistan 0 0 0 2 1 3 
			 Albania 1 4 4 0 3 12 
			 Algeria 1 4 2 7 2 16 
			 American Samoa 0 0 0 2 0 2 
			 Antigua and Barbuda 0 1 1 0 0 2 
			 Argentina 17 12 11 12 8 60 
			 Armenia 1 1 8 11 6 27 
			 Australia 84 239 648 1,518 1,577 4,066 
			 Azerbaijan 1 12 9 17 11 50 
			 Bahamas 0 0 1 2 0 3 
			 Bahrain 0 2 1 1 0 4 
			 Bangladesh 14 46 114 245 239 658 
			 Barbados 2 2 7 7 15 33 
			 Belarus 2 7 11 12 7 39 
			 Belize 0 0 1 2 1 4 
			 Bolivia 0 1 0 0 2 3 
			 Bosnia and Herzegovina 0 2 0 2 1 5 
			 Botswana 0 0 1 4 0 5 
			 Brazil 6 22 28 53 78 187 
			 British National (Overseas)(2) 6 14 8 8 7 43 
			 British Overseas Citizen(3) 0 0 1 0 1 2 
			 Brunei 0 0 1 0 1 2 
			 Bulgaria 6 22 25 59 34 146 
			 Cambodia 0 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Cameroon 1 8 5 11 22 47 
			 Canada 48 89 107 178 164 586 
			 Chile 3 3 2 6 4 18 
			 China, Peoples Republic of 33 152 368 650 334 1,537 
			 Colombia 9 11 13 18 24 75 
			 Costa Rica 1 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Cote D'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) 0 1 0 3 0 4 
			 Croatia 0 1 0 9 9 19 
			 Cuba 0 0 1 2 0 3 
			 Curacao 0 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Cyprus 2 5 1 0 0 8 
			 Czech Republic 1 6 0 0 0 7 
			 Dominica 0 1 1 1 2 5 
			 Dominican Republic 0 1 0 4 2 7 
			 Ecuador 1 2 1 2 1 7 
			 Egypt 12 32 81 135 184 444 
			 El Salvador 0 1 0 0 2 3 
			 Eritrea 0 1 0 1 0 2 
			 Estonia 2 1 1 0 0 4 
			 Ethiopia 0 5 6 12 11 34 
			 Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia/Montenegro) until June 2006 1 16 8 7 4 42 
			 Gambia 0 3 J^ 1 1 6 
			 Georgia 2 4 8j 8 4j 26 
			 Ghana 4 23 45 70 73 215 
			 Grenada 1 0 2 0 3 6 
			 Guatemala 0 0 0 2 1 3 
			 Guinea-Bissau 0 0 0 1 0 1 
			 Guyana 2 2 4 5 6 19 
			 Honduras 0 1 1 0 1 3 
			 Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China 3 2 9 14 6 34 
			 Hungary 4 2 3 0 0 9 
			 Iceland 0 0 0 1 0 1 
			 India 180 656 1,967 6,715 7,340 16,858 
			 Indonesia 2 5 5 15 17 44 
			 Iran 9 31 41 91 86 258 
			 Iraq 7 17 23 36 40 123 
			 Ireland 0 0 0 1 0 1 
			 Israel 9 45 52 69 44 219 
			 Jamaica 8 16 27 20 20 91 
			 Japan 7 23 24 38 32 124 
			 Jordan 2 6 20 26 72 126 
			 Kazakhstan 3 5 5 18 15 46 
			 Kenya 15 28 37 59 61 200 
			 Korea, North (Democratic Peoples Rep of) 0 0 0 1 2 3 
			 Korea, South (Rep of Korea) 5 8 19 20 29 81 
			 Kuwait 0 0 1 0 3 4 
			 Kyrgyzstan 0 1 3 11 4 19 
			 Latvia 0 1 0 1 0 2 
			 Lebanon 3 7 7 16 17 50 
			 Liberia 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 Libya 1 6 16 28 66 117 
			 Lithuania 8 6 0 0 0 14 
			 Macedonia 0 1 0 2 2 5 
			 Malawi 0 1 10 15 10 36 
			 Malaysia 14 33 63 174 214 498 
			 Maldives 0 0 0 0 2 2 
			 Mali 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 Malta 1 2 0 0 0 3 
			 Mauritania 0 3 1 1 3 8 
			 Mauritius 1 11 21 26 29 88 
			 Mexico 5 13 21 36 17 92 
			 Moldova (Rep of) 2 1 6 17 12 38 
			 Mongolia 2 1 0 4 1 8 
			 Montenegro (post June 2006) 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 Morocco 3 2 3 3 0 11 
			 Mozambique 0 1 0 1 0 2 
			 Myanmar 2 7 12 38 83 142 
			 Namibia 0 2 6 8 2 18 
			 Nepal 2 16 34 111 129 292 
			 New Zealand 19 115 337 847 778 2,096 
			 Nicaragua 0 0 0 1 1 2 
			 Niger 0 1 1 4 2 8 
			 Nigeria 31 186 445 1,187 1,209 3,058 
			 Oman 0 0 1 3 1 5 
			 Pakistan 58 268 1,001 2,080 1,569 4,976 
			 Palestinian Authority 0 1 4 11 17 33 
			 Panama 1 0 0 0 1 2 
			 Papua New Guinea 0 0 0 1 0 1 
			 Paraguay 0 1 0 0 0 1 
			 Peru 3 15 9 21 15 63 
			 Philippines 4 16 16 25 32 93 
			 Poland 4 20 0 0 0 24 
			 Qatar 0 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Romania 7 19 27 41 37 131 
			 Russian Federation 33 97 143 279 221 773 
			 Rwanda 1 1 1 0 0 3 
			 Saudi Arabia 0 2 5 11 5 23 
			 Senegal 0 0 4 0 2 6 
			 Serbia (post June 2006) 0 0 0 0 6 6 
			 Seychelles 0 2 1 0 1 4 
			 Sierra Leone 2 4 5 5 5 21 
			 Singapore 14 26 36 48 57 181 
			 Slovakia 2 2 1 0 0 5 
			 Slovenia 2 0 0 0 0 2 
			 Solomon Islands 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 South Africa 73 344 592 860 658 2,527 
			 Sri Lanka 8 39 86 269 348 750 
			 St. Kitts and Nevis 1 1 0 0 0 2 
			 St. Lucia 1 2 2 2 3 10 
			 St. Vincent and The Grenadines 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 Sudan 5 14 33 54 55 161 
			 Suriname 0 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Swaziland 0 1 0 1 1 3 
			 Switzerland 1 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Syria (Arab Rep) 0 2 23 60 2 87 
			 Taiwan, Territory of 2 2 9 19 21 53 
			 Tajikistan 0 0 1 1 0 2 
			 Tanzania (United Rep of) 5 8 6 9 7 35 
			 Thailand 2 2 6 4 7 21 
			 Trinidad and Tobago 2 11 23 46 74 156 
			 Tunisia 0 0 1 3 1 5 
			 Turkey 9 56 50 85 53 253 
			 Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus 0 0 0 0 2 2 
			 Turkmenistan 1 0 1 0 0 2 
			 Uganda 1 4 11 21 18 55 
			 Ukraine 8 24 57 91 88 268 
			 United Arab Emirates 1 0 1 2 0 4 
			 United States of America 271 559 456 619 509 2,414 
			 Uruguay 0 2 1 3 0 6 
			 Uzbekistan 0 2 8 15 14 39 
			 Venezuela 4 22 10 11 15 62 
			 Vietnam 0 1 1 4 3 9 
			 Yemen 0 4 0 4 2 10 
			 Zambia 9 16 19 24 19 87 
			 Zimbabwe 29 76 88 105 101 399 
			 Total 1,176 3,687 7,500 17,582 17,169 47,114 
			 (1) 2002 includes data from 28 January. 2006 includes data to 30 September. (2 )British national (overseas) is a person who applied to the Home Secretary or his overseas representative before 1 July 1997. To qualify for registration, the person applying must have been a British Dependent Territories citizen by connection with Hong Kong. (3) British overseas citizen—a person who, immediately before 1 January 1983, was a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies and did not, on that date, automatically become a British citizen or a British Dependent Territories citizen.

National Offender Management Bill

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research was  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated by his Department in developing the business case that underpins the changes outlined in the National Offender Management Bill.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Lord Carter conducted an extensive review of the correctional services in England and Wales. The review found considerable progress in the management of offenders but also found an urgent need for the different parts of the criminal justice system to work closer together, in particular the prison and probation services.
	In his December 2003 report—Managing Offenders, Reducing Crime—he made a number of recommendations including that more effective service delivery could be achieved through greater use of competition from private and voluntary providers, and through a separation of the line-management of public sector providers and the commissioning of services.
	Since the Government accepted the findings of Lord Carter in January 2004, we have continued to consult with stakeholders, both formally and informally, in developing the policy and this process continues as the Offender Management Bill goes through Parliament.

Non-violent Offenders

David Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of people convicted of a non-violent offence  (a) received a custodial sentence,  (b) received a custodial sentence of less than three months and  (c) served a custodial sentence of less than three months in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 22 January 2007
	The information requested on persons receiving an immediate custodial sentence for non-violent offences is contained in the table.
	Information from the same source (the Home Office court proceedings database) does not show the time served under sentence.
	The readily available information from the prison statistical system relates to persons discharged from determinate sentences of up to and including three months for all offences and is published in Table 10.1 of 'Offender Management Caseload Statistics' (Home Office Statistical Bulletin No. 18/06) on the Home Office website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/hosb1806.pdf
	
		
			  Persons sentenced to immediate custody for non-violent( 1)  offences, England and Wales 
			   Persons convicted and sentenced 
			   Number  Percentage 
			  2001   
			 Immediate custodial sentences of all lengths 87,709 6.8 
			  Of which:   
			 Less than 3 months 26,669 2.1 
			
			  2002   
			 Immediate custodial sentences of all lengths 91,372 6.7 
			  Of which:   
			 Less than 3 months 28,098 2.1 
			
			  2003   
			 Immediate custodial sentences of all lengths 88,547 6.2 
			  Of which:   
			 Less than 3 months 26,975 1.9 
			
			  2004   
			 Immediate custodial sentences of all lengths 86,144 5.8 
			  Of which:   
			 Less than 3 months 26,654 1.8 
			
			  2005   
			 Immediate custodial sentences of all lengths 81,286 5.7 
			  Of which:   
			 Less than 3 months 26,665 1.9 
			 (1) Indictable and summary offences but excluding violence against the person, sexual offences and robbery.  Note: Although care is taken in collating and analysing the returns used to compile these figures, the data are of necessity subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system. Consequently, although figures are shown to the last digit in order to provide a comprehensive record of the information collected, they are not necessarily accurate to the last digit shown.  Source: RDS-NOMS, Home Office.

Operation Pentameter

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the outcomes of Operation Pentameter; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics Directorate are in the process of assessing Operation Pentameter, both to ensure that operational lessons are learned but also to examine any lessons from the operation on the nature and scale of trafficking for sexual exploitation in the UK.

People Trafficking

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received on people trafficking; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 18 January 2007
	The Home Office are currently working on an action plan on human trafficking to be published in the next few months. This process requires consultation with a number of stakeholders and agencies on a regular basis these cover a wide range of trafficking issues from prevention to the support and protection of victims.

Police

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent by the Sussex constabulary under the budget headings  (a) non-incident linked paperwork,  (b) checking paperwork (supervisory),  (c) robberies,  (d) house burglaries and  (e) violent crime identified by the activity bases costing review for 2004-05.

Tony McNulty: The information supplied to the Home Office for the 2004-05 activity based costing review did not include cost data for non-incident linked paperwork and checking paperwork.
	The other information requested is as follows:
	Robberies—£2.40 million
	House burglaries (domestic burglaries)—£7.98 million
	Violent crime (all violence)—£20.69 million
	Figures taken from Sussex ABC return of 2004-05.

Prison Service

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drug-misusing prisoners were provided with rehabilitation in each of the last 10 years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The following table shows the numbers of prisoners with a drug problem who engage subsequently with prison drug treatment services in the years for which the information is available.
	
		
			  Intensive programme entrants 
			   Clinical Services includes maintenance, detoxification and alcohol detoxification  CARATs counselling assessment, referral, advice and throughcare service initial assessments  Intensive programme entrants 
			 2001-02 41,765 39,338 4,691 
			 2002-03 50,701 51,966 4,386 
			 2003-04 57,891 54,125 4,703 
			 2004-05 53,903 59,025 7,621 
			 2005-06 53,323 (1)74,588 10,743 
			 (1) Includes 8,709 by YPSMS young People's Substance Misuse Service for under-18s   Notes:  1. Individual prisoners may engage in more than one form of treatment.  2. Includes maintenance, detoxification and alcohol detoxification.  3. Counselling, assessment, referral, advice and throughcare service.  4. Young peoples' substance misuse service for under-18s.

Prisons

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) male and  (b) female prisoners were convicted for drugs offences in each of the last 10 years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information on the numbers of  (a) male and  (b) female prisoners received into prison establishments in England and Wales in each year since 1995 on immediate custodial sentences for drugs offences can be found within the following table taken from table 7.2 of the recently published Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2005 which can be accessed at the following website:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/hosb1806.pdf
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems.
	Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and although shown to the last individual the figures may not be accurate to that level.
	
		
			  Receptions into prison establishments in England and Wales on immediate custodial sentence for drugs offences, 1995-2005—(based on table 7.2 in Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2005) 
			   Male  Female  Total 
			 1995 4,325 404 4,729 
			 1996 5,525 575 6,100 
			 1997 6,324 750 7,074 
			 1998 6,569 831 7,400 
			 1999 6,747 929 7,676 
			 2000 6,303 906 7,209 
			 2001 6,513 1,009 7,522 
			 2002 6,288 988 7,276 
			 2003 6,169 966 7,135 
			 2004 6,231 922 7,153 
			 2005 6,216 844 7,060

Sentences

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what the average time spent in prison was for those convicted of burglary in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  what the average time spent in prison was by those convicted of violence against the person in each of the last 10 years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information on the length of sentences for prisoners received into prison establishments in England and Wales during 2005 for offences of violence against the person and burglary are in the following table. This table is published as table 7.3 within the Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2005, a copy of which can be found in the House of Commons Library. Information on the average time served, by sentence length, is shown in table 10.1 of the same publication.
	Equivalent tables for 2004 (table 7.3, 10.1) can be found at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/hosb1705section7.xls
	and for 2003 (table 7.3, 10.1) at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs04/hosb1504section7.xls
	Information for the earlier years can be found in the annual publication Prison Statistics, England and Wales (tables 4.6 and 4.11 for 2002) which are also available in the House of Commons Library.
	The figures referred to have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and although shown to the last individual the figures may not be accurate to that level.
	
		
			  Table 7.3: Immediate custodial sentenced receptions into prison establishments( 1 ) by offence group, sentence length and sex, 2005—England and Wales 
			  Number of persons 
			   All  Less than or equal to 6 months  Greater than 6 months less than 12 months  12 months to less than 4 years  4 years or more (excluding indeterminate sentences)  Indeterminate sentences 
			 Males and females 90,414 51,817 7,983 22,640 6,927 1,047 
			 Violence against the person 16,744 8,965 1,383 4,510 1,332 554 
			 Sexual offences 2,452 292 125 995 926 114 
			 Robbery 3,894 634 199 2,066 810 185 
			 Burglary 7,550 2,518 747 3,635 611 39 
			 Theft and handling 17,880 13,583 1,805 2,241 223 28 
			 Fraud and forgery 4,062 1,541 797 1,553 169 2 
			 Drug offences 7,060 1,246 361 3,260 2,188 5 
			 Motoring offences 12,326 10,765 670 820 62 9 
			 Other offences 17,498 11,788 1,737 3,296 567 110 
			 Offence not recorded 948 485 159 264 39 1 
			
			 Males 82,390 46,650 7,231 21,008 6,507 994 
			 Violence against the person 15,630 8,260 1,294 4,282 1,271 523 
			 Sexual offences 2,433 288 123 986 922 114 
			 Robbery 3,644 594 187 1,898 790 175 
			 Burglary 7,254 2,415 709 3,506 585 39 
			 Theft and handling 15,353 11,495 1,571 2,046 214 27 
			 Fraud and forgery 3,257 1,178 605 1,315 157 2 
			 Drug offences 6,216 1,091 329 2,855 1,936 5 
			 Motoring offences 11,959 10,428 650 810 62 9 
			 Other offences 15,758 10,450 1,611 3,065 533 99 
			 Offence not recorded 886 451 152 245 37 1 
			
			 Females 8,024 5,167 752 1,632 420 53 
			 Violence against the person 1,114 705 89 228 61 31 
			 Sexual offences 19 4 2 9 4 0 
			 Robbery 250 40 12 168 20 10 
			 Burglary 296 103 38 129 26 0 
			 Theft and handling 2,527 2,088 234 195 9 1 
			 Fraud and forgery 805 363 192 238 12 0 
			 Drug offences 844 155 32 405 252 0 
			 Motoring offences 367 337 20 10 0 0 
			 Other offences 1,740 1,338 126 231 34 11 
			 Offence not recorded 62 34 7 19 2 0 
			 (1) Excludes police cells.  Note: Care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, but the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and so although shown to the last individual, the figures may not be accurate to that level. See technical appendix of report for fuller information.  Sources: These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems.

Translation Services

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what services provided by his Department and its related agencies translation services are provided.

Liam Byrne: The Department does not maintain a central list of services for which it offers translation services. Translation services may be provided—according to operational need-within any service operated by the Department and its Executive agencies. This includes services across the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, the National Offender Management Service, HM Prison Service and the Criminal Records Bureau.

Equality Legislation

David Taylor: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what impact  (a) existing and  (b) forthcoming equality legislation (i) has had and (ii) will have on the status of female members of private golf clubs; and if she will make a statement.

Meg Munn: Private members clubs, such as private golf clubs, are not covered by the Sex Discrimination Act 1975. In 1989 the Government asked private clubs which have both men and women members to take voluntary action to abolish any discriminatory practices. We made clear that we did not rule out the need for legislative action. Some clubs have taken steps to remove inequalities, but there is evidence that some mixed-sex private clubs still discriminate on the grounds of sex, almost exclusively to the disadvantage of women.
	Excluding women from full membership rights in private clubs such as golf clubs is basically unfair and it can involve demeaning and humiliating treatment. It can also prevent women from fulfilling their potential contribution to a club. We consider that it is no longer acceptable for organisations that admit both men and women as members or guests to discriminate against some members or guests, simply because of their gender. The Government's Discrimination Law Review is therefore considering how to address sex discrimination in private members clubs, including private sports clubs, that have members of both sexes.

House of Commons: Equality of Representation

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what steps she is taking to promote equality of representation between men and women in the House of Commons.

Meg Munn: In 2002 we introduced the Sex Discrimination (Election Candidates) Act allowing positive measures towards women's increased participation. This legislation is having an impact and the numbers are rising particularly in the parties that made use of these measures.
	The Labour party was able to increase the percentage of women MPs in the last general election by using all-women shortlists to select candidates in seats held by Labour MPs who were retiring.
	By contrast the Liberal Democrat party and the Conservative party respectively only selected 32 per cent. and 12 per cent. of women candidates for its 50 most winnable seats.
	Overall, 20 per cent. of MPs are now women compared with 9 per cent. before 1997. Nearly 27.4 per cent. of Labour MPs are now women, while 8.6 per cent. of Conservative MPs and 14.3 per cent. of Liberal Democrat MPs are women.

Mid-Ulster Hospital

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many hospital beds were available for use at the Mid-Ulster hospital, Magherafelt in each year since 2003-04.

Paul Goggins: Information on the number of available in-patient beds in Mid-Ulster hospital, Magherafelt for the years 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 is shown in the following table. Average available beds are defined as the average number of beds available during the quarter in wards that are open overnight, measured at midnight. The hospital may also have a number of beds in wards, which are only open during the day. Beds reserved for day case admission or regular day admission are not included.
	
		
			   Average available beds 
			 2003-04 177.0 
			 2004-05 178.3 
			 2005-06 187.7 
			  Source: Departmental Information Return KH03 A

Racially Motivated Assaults

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many racially motivated assaults have  (a) were reported and  (b) resulted in a case being brought before the courts in each parliamentary constituency in Northern Ireland in the last 12 months.

Paul Goggins: I have been advised by the PSNI that the information requested is not collated by parliamentary constituency but is available by district command unit as outlined.
	
		
			  District command unit  Recorded  Charged/summons  Cautions (adult and juvenile) 
			 Antrim 6 0 0 
			 Ards 8 0 0 
			 East Belfast 13 4 0 
			 North Belfast 11 2 0 
			 South Belfast 36 10 2 
			 West Belfast 2 0 0 
			 Carrickfergus 5 0 1 
			 Castlereagh 8 3 0 
			 Larne 4 0 0 
			 Lisburn 19 7 0 
			 Newtownabbey 8 0 0 
			 North Down 6 0 0 
			 Armagh 4 1 0 
			 Ballymena 9 0 0 
			 Ballymoney 3 0 0 
			 Banbridge 2 0 0 
			 Coleraine 5 0 0 
			 Cookstown 6 0 1 
			 Craigavon 23 5 0 
			 Down 6 1 1 
			 Dungannon and South Tyrone 19 3 1 
			 Fermanagh 3 0 0 
			 Foyle 8 1 0 
			 Limavady 1 1 0 
			 Magherafelt 8 4 0 
			 Moyle 0 0 0 
			 Newry and Mourne 13 0 1 
			 Omagh 9 0 0 
			 Strabane 0 0 0 
			 Northern Ireland 245 42 7 
			  Notes: 1. Please note that these figures are provisional and may be subject to revision. 2. Assault includes assault occasioning actual bodily harm, grievous bodily harm, wounding, grievous bodily harm with intent, wounding with intent, aggravated assault, common assault and assault on police.  Source: Central Statistics Unit, PSNI

Royal Mail

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department spent using Royal Mail in each of the last five years.

Peter Hain: The following table contains the amounts paid to the Royal Mail by the Northern Ireland Office, excluding its Agencies and NDPBs, in each of the last five years.
	
		
			   Amounts paid to Royal Mail (£) 
			 2001-02 77,630 
			 2002-03 126,648 
			 2003-04 243,207 
			 2004-05 117,903 
			 2005-06 312,863 
		
	
	This is due to the introduction of the "Electoral Fraud Act", which came into effect in 2002. The introduction of the Act has resulted in the Electoral Office of Northern Ireland (EONI) having to register individual voters on a yearly basis. This has lead to a subsequent increase in "freepost" charges for the Department as the EONI is treated as part of NIO Core for accounting purposes.

Work Force Diversity

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the composition was of the monitored full-time workforce of companies employing 11 or more people in  (a) 1995 and  (b) 2005, broken down by religious designation.

David Hanson: The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland has provided the following information in relation to the composition of the monitored Northern Ireland full-time work force:
	 (a) Composition of the monitored private sector work force (employing 11 or more people) in 1995.
	
		
			  Table 1: Composition of Monitored Private Sector Full-time Employees by Sex 
			   Protestant  Roman Catholic  Non-determined  Total 
			   Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 Male 86,941 61.0 50,718 35.6 4,975 3.5 142,634 56.9 
			   63.2  36.8  —  — 
			  
			 Female 63,646 59.0 41,360 38.3 2,958 2.7 107,964 43.1 
			   60.6  39.4  —  — 
			  
			 Total 150,587 60.1 92,078 36.7 7,933 3.2 250,598 100.00 
			   62.1  37.9  —  — 
			  Source: Monitoring Report No. 6, Fair Employment Commission, April 1996. 
		
	
	 (b) Composition of the monitored private sector work force (employing 11 or more people) in 2005.
	
		
			  Table 1: Composition of Monitored Private Sector Full-time Employees by Sex 
			   Protestant  Roman Catholic  Non-determined  Total 
			   Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 Male 87,779 55.2 60,015 37.8 11,138 7.0 158,932 59.1 
			   59.4  40.6  —  — 
			  
			 Female 58,970 53.5 44,485 40.4 6,688 6.1 110,143 40.9 
			   57.0  43.0  —  — 
			  
			 Total 146,749 54.5 104,500 38.8 17,826 6.6 269,075 100.00 
			   58.4  41.6  —  — 
			  Source: Monitoring Report No. 16, Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, December 2006. 
		
	
	The information in the tables is already in the public domain, contained in the relevant Fair Employment Monitoring Reports. The Monitoring Report has been published on an annual basis since 1991.

Train Services

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with train operating companies about the number of services west of Cardiff, Central on weekday evenings.

Peter Hain: My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Wales has had discussions with my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, and the Assembly Government Minister for Enterprise, Innovation and Networks, and First Great Western direct to discuss rail services west of Cardiff.
	We will continue to press First Great Western for a review of their decision to curtail the 3:15 London Paddington to Swansea service and for improvement in their performance generally to more acceptable standards.

Child Maintenance Payments

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the level of benefit disregard to be applied to child maintenance cases from 2010-11 as proposed in the White Paper A new system of child maintenance.

James Plaskitt: Ministers and officials from the Department for Work and Pensions meet regularly with their counterparts from Her Majesty's Treasury to discuss a wide range of issues of common interestincluding child support reform.
	Such meetings will continue as we assess how best to balance the potential impacts of significantly increasing the benefit disregard for maintenance income on incentives to pay child maintenance, child poverty and work incentives.

Child Poverty

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what percentage of children lived in households with less than 60 per cent. of the median income in  (a) 1997 and  (b) at the latest date for which figures are available;
	(2)  what percentage of children lived in households with less than 60 per cent. of the median income in each EU15 state  (a) in 1997 and  (b) at the latest date for which figures are available.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 15 January 2007
	In 1996-97, in Great Britain, the proportion of children living in households with less than 60 per cent. of median income was 25 per cent. before housing costs and 33 per cent. after housing costs.
	The latest data available are for the year 2004-05. In this year, in Great Britain, the proportion of children living in households with less than 60 per cent. of median income was 19 per cent. before housing costs and 27 per cent. after housing costs.
	It should be noted that children here are defined as those aged under 16, or aged 16 to 18, unmarried and on a course up to and including 'A' level standard.
	There is a remarkable variety of incomes across the EU and therefore, in absolute monetary terms, relative poverty is measured using different thresholds. Purchasing power parities are currency conversion rates that equalise the purchasing power of different currencies by eliminating the differences in price levels between their countries. Using this method demonstrates that the relative poverty threshold in the UK in 2004-05, in PPS, for households with two adults and two dependent children was 21,385. This is similar to the figure for Austria (21,382) and Germany (20,935). Looking at just the figures for the EU15, the highest threshold was in Luxembourg (34,316) and lowest in Greece (11,130).
	The following table shows the proportion of children (aged under 16) in households with less than 60 per cent. of the median national income in each EU15 state in 1997 and 2004. These figures are all before housing costs.
	It should be noted that the figures for the UK are not the same as those published in the households below average income (HBAI) series. This is because the 1997 figures utilise a different data source, the European community household panel. The 2004 figures differ because, although they use HBAI data, these has been harmonised ex-post for maximum consistency with the comparative EU dataset.
	A trend between 1997 and 2004 cannot be derived as different data sources are used in the two years. However, the data demonstrate that whereas, in 1997, the UK had the worst child poverty rate in the EU15, now it is close to the EU average.
	
		
			  Proportion of children in household with less than 60 per cent. of median national income 
			   1997  2004 
			 EU25 average  (1)20 
			 EU15 average (1)19 (1)20 
			 Belgium 14 17 
			 Denmark (2)6 9 
			 Germany 15 (2)20 
			 Ireland 25 22 
			 Greece 18 20 
			 Spain 26 24 
			 France 16 14 
			 Italy 23 26 
			 Luxembourg 16 18 
			 Netherlands 13 (2,3)18 
			 Austria 15 15 
			 Portugal 25 23 
			 Finland 5 10 
			 Sweden (2)7 11 
			 United Kingdom 27 (2)22 
			 (1)Eurostat estimate (2 )National source harmonised ex-post for maximum consistency with comparative EU data source (3 )2003 data

Child Support Agency

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Child Support Agency cases were  (a) outstanding and  (b) unprocessed in (i) Eastbourne constituency and (ii) East Sussex in each year since 1997.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 23 January 2007:
	 In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Child Support Agency cases were  (a) outstanding and  (b) unprocessed in (i) Eastbourne constituency and (ii) East Sussex in each year since 1997.
	The Agency begins to process new applications as soon as they are received and continues until they have been cleared. Any applications that have not yet been cleared can be regarded as outstanding. The amount of work required to achieve clearance and the elapsed time it involves varies considerably depending on, amongst other things, the circumstances of the parents and how readily they cooperate with the Agency.
	As such, the Agency holds only a negligible number of completely unprocessed cases and it is not possible to allocate these to individual constituencies.
	With regard to part  (a), the Agency can only provide the information requested for applications (both new and old scheme) operating on the new computer system (CS2). Therefore this is not representative of the overall trend and volumes of the total amount of uncleared applications at the geographical level requested. Please see the attached table.
	It should be noted that there are always applications for which the Agency cannot assign a county or a constituency, either because they had been received directly via Jobcentre Plus and had not reached the point in the process at which details on the constituency of the parent with care can be identified, or because the application is on the old computer system from which it is not possible to provide robust estimates at the geographical level requested. In September 2006, there were around 70,000 such applications.
	For future reference, it should be noted that information relating to the number of uncleared applications on the new computer system in September 2006 in each parliamentary constituency is publicly available, and can be found in Table 27 of the September 2006 Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics, a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library, or on the internet via the following link:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/child_support/csa_quarterly_sep06.asp
	Although the total volume of uncleared applications nationally across both schemes, 247,500 in September 2006, is the lowest since comparable records began, the Agency recognises that this remains unacceptably high. The Agency therefore has a 2006/07 target to ensure that, by March 2007, the volume of new scheme uncleared applications outstanding at March 2006 is reduced by 25 per cent. and our challenge, as set down in our Operational Improvement Plan, is that the Agency should not have a backlog in this area by March 2009.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.
	
		
			  Number of uncleared applications in the parliamentary constituency of Eastbourne from September 2003 to September 2006 (both new and old scheme applications on the new computer system only) 
			  Eastbourne  Number 
			 September 2003 140 
			 September 2004 350 
			 September 2005 400 
			 September 2006 340 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of uncleared applications in East Sussex from September 2003 to September 2006 (both new and old scheme applications on the new computer system only) 
			  East Sussex  Number 
			 September 2003 560 
			 September 2004 1,410 
			 September 2005 1,600 
			 September 2006 1,420 
			 Note s: 1. According to the Office for National Statistics definition, East Sussex comprises 5 local authority areas: Eastbourne, Rother, Hastings, Lewes and Wealdon. 2. Volumes are rounded to the nearest ten.

Ministerial Blog

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much the Minister for Employment and Welfare Reform's blog has cost to administer in each month since its inception; what the budget for the blog is for 2007-08; and how many unique visitors to the blog there have been since May.

Jim Murphy: The Welfare Reform and Child Poverty blog was launched on the DWP internet site on 16 October 2006.
	Costs to develop and administer the blog were met from existing resources, and current staffing levels.
	Ongoing maintenance equates to half the time of one member of staff. From October to date this has cost 1,487 per month.
	At present no funding decisions have been made about the financial year 2007-08.
	Since it was launched it has attracted 1,987 unique visitors(1) resulting in 4,731 visits(2)
	(1 )Unique visitorsIndividuals who visited the site during the report period. If someone visits more than once, they are counted only the first time they visit.
	(2 )VisitsNumber of times a visitor came to the site.

Religious Extremism

Kitty Ussher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department is taking to promote interfaith forums as a means of tackling religious extremism.

Phil Woolas: My Department's overall aim in working with and across faith communities is to increase community cohesion and prevent and reduce extremism from and towards these communities. Inter faith initiatives play a key role in tackling and isolating violent extremist activity. My Department supports the Interfaith Network which represents the collective voice of all main faith communities and helps regional and local bodies to contribute to community cohesion. In addition, 5 million has been set aside for inter faith programmes and capacity building within faith communities during 2007. The Local Government White Paper reforms will further engage faith communities in promoting cohesion through their effective representation in local public partnerships.

Barker Report

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what plans she has to recommend, commission or request strategic reviews of green belt boundaries following the publication of the Barker report on land use planning;
	(2)  what plans she has to amend  (a) Planning Policy Guidance Note 2 (PPG2),  (b) Planning Policy Statement on town centres (PPS6) and  (c) regional spatial strategies in relation to the green belt in response to the Barker report on land use planning.

Yvette Cooper: Kate Barker published the final report of her independent Review of Land Use Planning in England on 5 December 2006. The Government have welcomed her report and we are currently considering her recommendations in discussion with stakeholders before setting out a response.
	The Government remain committed to promoting the vitality and viability of town centres and the town centre-first policy approach set out in PPS6.
	The Government believe that existing green belt policy has served us well and we are not convinced that substantial policy changes are needed. The planning system needs to be fit for the 21st century and able to respond to pressing needs. It must do this through real consultation with communities, and with a proper assessment of environmental impacts. The Government will consider its response to Kate Barker's review in this light.
	We will set out in a White Paper in the spring our proposals in response to Kate Barker's recommendations for improving the speed, responsiveness and efficiency of land use planning. In the meantime, the Government are interested to hear responses to the report.

Council Tax

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what change there has been in Band D council tax since 1997-98 in  (a) the London Borough of Croydon and  (b) England.

Angela Smith: Between 1997-98 and 2006-07 the Band D council tax in the borough of Croydon rose by 108 per cent. The corresponding figure for England was 84 per cent.

Departmental Targets

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which statistics are used to determine whether her Department's Public Service Agreement (PSA) targets have been met, broken down by PSA target; and which of these statistics are classified as national statistics.

Angela Smith: holding answer 15 January 2007
	The Department for Communities and Local Government's public service agreements incorporate technical notes which contain information about the statistics used to monitor progress. The technical notes can be accessed using the following URL:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1122982
	A report by the independent Statistics Commission entitled PSA Targets: the Devil in the Detail, which was published on 20 March 2006, sets out for each Department's PSA targets whether the statistics used to monitor those targets are classified as national statistics. Copies of that report are available in the Library of the House and can also be accessed using the following URL:
	http://www.statscom.org.uk/C_467.aspx.

Gypsies and Travellers

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many sites in  (a) Eastbourne and  (b) East Sussex have been designated for Gypsies and Travellers.

Meg Munn: A list of Gypsy and Traveller sites provided by local authorities and registered social landlords in England is published by the Department for Communities and Local Government twice yearly.
	Copies of the latest publication, Gypsy and Traveller sites provided by local authorities and RSLs in England19th July 2006, have been deposited in the Libraries of the House. An electronic version is also available on the Department's website at
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=l153575
	The publication also provides information on the number of caravans on private sites.

Local Energy Generation Schemes

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions she has had with colleagues regarding the creation of local energy generation schemes.

Yvette Cooper: The Secretary of State and other Ministers in the Department are involved in ongoing discussions regarding the creation of local energy generation schemes with other Government Departments and stakeholders as part of the work to deliver zero carbon homes within ten years.

Ministerial Travel

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the  (a) destination and  (b) cost to the public purse was of each foreign trip undertaken by junior Ministers in her Department and its predecessor in the 2006-07 financial year.

Angela Smith: All ministerial visits are conducted in accordance with the ministerial code and 'Travel by Ministers'. Since 1999, the Government have published, on an annual basis, a list of overseas travel by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of 500 and the total cost of all ministerial travel. Information for 2005-06 was published on 24 July 2006. Information for 2006-07 will be published as soon as possible after the end of the financial year in the Library of the House.

Carbon Emissions

Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when the Prime Minister's Office began to measure its carbon emissions; what the volume of those emissions was in the last period for which figures are available; when the Office started to offset those emissions; what the cost is expected to be of offsetting the Office's emissions; and if she will make a statement.

Hilary Armstrong: For these purposes, the Prime Minister's Office forms part of the Cabinet Office. The Cabinet Office began to measure carbon emissions from its buildings in 2005-06 and from business air travel in 2004-05.
	The volume of building emissions in the last period for which figures are available, is 2,031 tonnes. Efforts to reduce future building emissions will be as part of a wider strategy and hierarchy of actions starting with reducing emissions, using renewable energy and offsetting the remaining balance as part of a cross-Government offsetting scheme.
	Since l April 2006, the Cabinet Office is offsetting official and ministerial business travel as part of its commitment to the Carbon Offsetting of Government Air Travel initiative and as a participant in the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund (GCOF). Flights by the Prime Minister have been offset since 1 April 2005.
	The GCOF aims to fulfil the Prime Minister's commitment to carbon offset all official air travel in central Government and will be available for all central Government Departments to offset emissions from their official air travel in a simple and cost effective manner, as well as ensuring high environmental integrity. The anticipated contribution which the Cabinet Office would need to make to offset air travel emissions over the three-year period covered by the GCOF is 16,530.

Engagements

George Galloway: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on what dates Ministers in her Department made official visits to the London boroughs of  (a) Tower Hamlets,  (b) Newham and  (c) Waltham Forest in each year since 1997.

Hilary Armstrong: To search diary records prior to May 2005 and to identify detailed information would incur disproportionate cost. However, since May 2005 Ministers in this Department have visited the boroughs in question on the following dates:
	 (a) Tower Hamlet:
	2 February 2006, 12 April 2006, 1 June 2006, 10 July 2006, 25 July 2006, 11 September 2006, 1 November 2006, 20 November 2006 and, 13 December 2006
	 (b) Newham:
	14 March 2006 and 12 July 2006
	 (c) Waltham Forest:
	None.

Asthma Inhalers

Kevin Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to phase out chlorofluorocarbon-based asthma inhalers for adult patients.

Caroline Flint: The transfer of patients to chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) free metered dose inhalers (MDIs) began in 1995 when the first one was licensed for use in the United Kingdom. Many more have been introduced to the market since that time.
	The Government's plan for phasing out CFCs in asthma inhalers is set out in the UK Transition Strategy for CFC-based MDIs, which was developed after consultation with all relevant stakeholders and published by the Department of Health and the Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions in 1999. It was communicated widely to healthcare professionals in the national health service, patient groups and patients at that time.
	The Department and the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs continue to actively pursue the phase-out of CFCs in MDIs in accordance with the UK transition strategy. The UK has declared CFCs to be non-essential for three medicines: ipratropium, salbutamol and fluticasone.

Burntwood, Lichfield and Tamworth PCT

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was allocated to Burntwood, Lichfield and Tamworth Primary Care Trust in  (a) cash and  (b) real terms in each of the last five years.

Andy Burnham: The following table shows the revenue allocations made to Burntwood, Lichfield and Tamworth Primary Care Trust for the financial years 2003-04 to 2006-07. In 2002-03 the Department made allocations to health authorities.
	
		
			   million 
			   Allocation  Real terms allocation in 2006-07 prices 
			 2003-04 115,514 124,151 
			 2004-05 126,639 132,463 
			 2005-06 138,312 142,023 
			 2006-07 166,710 166,710

Central Lancashire Primary Care Trust

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if she will list the board members of the Central Lancashire Primary Care Trust, broken down by stated party political affiliation;
	(2)  if she will list the board members of the Central Lancashire Primary Care Trust, broken down by area of residence.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not held centrally. I have written to the NHS Appointments Commission and asked them to write to my hon. Friend providing information about the chair and non-executive directors of the Central Lancashire Primary Care Trust.
	With regard to the chief executive and other executive directors, national health service organisations must make the interests of chief executives and board members available to the public under the Code of Accountability in the NHS, but there is no requirement for them to declare this information to the Department.

Children's Palliative Care

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much of the 27 million for children's palliative care services announced by her Department on 30 October 2006 has been  (a) allocated and  (b) spent.

Ivan Lewis: The 327 million is to be spread over three years. Of the 9 million available in financial year 2006-07 we have given funding directly to 35 hospice services, totalling 8,715,696. There is one application still to be determined and we await further information from the organisation concerned. We have agreed with the key stakeholders that the balance of the 9 million for this financial year will contribute to the cost of the review of the long term sustainability of children's palliative care services.

Clinical Trials

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her Department's timetable is for reviewing the recommendations contained within the report of the Independent Expert Scientific Group on clinical trials.

Caroline Flint: The Government fully endorse and support the recommendations made by the expert scientific group on phase one clinical trials. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has set up an implementation group that has met several times and drawn up a project plan for implementing all the report's recommendations. In particular, the MHRA has already put in place precautionary measures concerning the approval and conduct of trials involving higher risk substances as recommended by the expert scientific group, including access to independent scientific advice. The MHRA expects to have in place an expert advisory group which will report to the commission on human medicines and advise on applications for clinical trials on higher risk substances by the end of March 2007.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice her Department gives to primary care trusts on the provision of cognitive behavioural therapy as part of the national health service.

Rosie Winterton: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published guidelines to the NHS on the treatment of depression and anxiety in December 2004. NICE gave emphatic support to making evidence based psychological therapies available as an adjunct or alternative to drug treatments for the treatment of mild to moderate depression, anxiety and schizophrenia.
	The Department of Health has also taken the following actions to help implement the NICE guidelines:
	included psychological therapies alongside drug treatments n the National Service Framework for Mental Health (1999) to show they are just as important as drug treatments, and sometimes referred by service users;
	published an evidence-based guideline Treatment Choice in Psychological Therapies and Counselling in 2001 to help GPs and professionals know more about the most effective treatments for particular conditions;
	published the booklet Choosing Talking Treatments in 2001 for service users and carers to help them know the questions to ask when seeking psychological therapies or counselling;
	published the practical guidance Organising and Delivering Psychological Therapies in July 2004 to help local services understand what best practice should involve. It contains recommendations for how to deliver:
	acceptable, user-friendly services which involve users and carers, provide information and enhance engagement and choice;
	accessible services which manage waits, co-ordinate services and ensure times and locations are appropriate;
	equitable services which reduce inequalities and ensure access for black and minority ethnic and other under-served groups;
	cost-effective services which are targeted, evidence-based, effective and provided locally; and
	safe services in which staff are well-trained and supported, and which are connected to clinical governance systems.
	NICE also issued a technology appraisal TA097 on computerised cognitive behavioural therapies (CCBT) in February 2006. By 31 March 2007, NICE requires all PCTs to provide access to the packages Beating the Blues as an option for the treatment of mild and moderate depression and FearFighter as an option for the treatment of panic and phobia.

Coronary and Stroke Care

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health where the 11 pilots to assess different models of heart attack care referred to on page 7 of the National Director for Heart Disease and Stroke's report entitled Mending Hearts and Brains, published 5 December 2006, are situated; what is being assessed at each pilot site; when the pilots were established in each case; when she expects the pilots to conclude in each case; whether she plans to establish more pilot sites; whether results from the pilots will be published; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The pilots referred to in 'Mending Hearts and Brains' are situated in the following locations:
	Leeds General infirmaryWest Yorkshire Primary PCI Service
	Hammersmith, St. Mary's and Harefield hospitalsWest London Primary Angioplasty Service
	Manchester Royal infirmary and Wythenshawe hospitalsPrimary PCI for Greater Manchester
	London Chest hospitalBarts and the London Direct AMI Service
	James Cooke University hospital and University hospital of North Durham(1)South Tees Primary Angioplasty Service
	Royal Devon and Exeter hospitalthe Royal Devon and Exeter Primary Angioplasty Project
	Kings College hospitalSouth East London Primary Angioplasty Pilot
	(1 )North Durham is a control site carrying out thrombolysis.
	The pilot sites were established early in 2005 with the exception of Harefield which joined later in the year. In all cases except in Leeds, sites already had some experience of offering a primary angioplasty service. The Leeds service commenced in March 2005. Patient data for the study has been collected from 1 April 2005 and will be completed by 31 March 2007. There are no plans to establish further pilots.
	An independent evaluation of the pilots is being carried out by the School for Health and Related Research (ScHARR) at the University of Sheffield. The evaluation is addressing the patient experience of primary angioplasty and staffing implications and carrying out detailed costing taking into account the different geographies and service models afforded by the pilots. The sites are contributing to some extent to all the areas of the evaluation but some will be taking part in a more detailed analysis of one particular area. The details have not yet been finalised by ScHARR. ScHARR has recruited further control sites carrying out thrombolysis as the main treatment for heart attack to assist with the evaluation.
	Following receipt of the patient follow up data in March 2007, there will be an interim progress report from the Department and British Cardiovascular Society (BCS). The Department has been working jointly with BCS on this pilot study. A final report from ScHARR and a report from the Department is due in early 2008.

Coronary and Stroke Care

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the evidential basis was for the statement on page 6 of the National Director for Heart Disease and Stroke's report entitled Mending Hearts and Brains, published 5 December 2006, that 250 strokes could be prevented if local hospitals were bypassed; and if she will place in the Library copies of the relevant documentation.

Rosie Winterton: The statement that 250 strokes could be prevented if we had national coverage of primary angioplasty services for treatment of heart attack is an estimate based on the published evidence comparing the risk of stroke from administering thrombolysis, about 2 per cent., and the risk of stroke from primary angioplasty, about 1 per cent.
	A rounded annual figure of 25,000 acute myocardial infarctions was taken from the myocardial infarction national audit project (MINAP). Using this, 500 in 25,000 would potentially suffer a stroke whereas 250 in 25,000 would potentially suffer a stroke of those treated with thrombolysis.
	 Source
	Primary Angioplasty versus intravenous thrombolytic therapy for myocardial infarction: a quantitative review of 23 randomised trialsKeeley, Boura and Grines, The Lancet, Volume 361, Number 9351, 4 January 2003. Copies of this paper have been placed in the Library.

Correspondence

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many letters were received by her Department from hon. Members in each of the last 12 months; how many such letters were responded to within  (a) 10 and  (b) 20 days of receipt; how many were answered after 20 days from the date of receipt; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of Departments in replying to Members and Peers correspondence. The report for 2005 was published on 30 March 2006,  Official Report, columns 75-78WS. Information relating to 2006 is currently being collated and will be published as soon as it is ready.

Departmental Staff

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff have been employed through employment agencies in  (a) her Department and  (b) each of its agencies in each of the last five years for which information is available; and what the (i) average and (ii) longest time was for which these temporary workers were employed in each year.

Ivan Lewis: The Department does not keep records relating to the number of staff engaged through employment agencies; the records we do keep relate to the cost of doing so.
	In the years where information is available, the costs of agency staff were:
	
		
			   
			 2005-2006 12,507,092 
			 2004-2005 12,186,224 
		
	
	
		
			  NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (PASA) 
			   2006  2005 
			 Number of temporary staff employed 36 43 
			 Time engaged   
			 Average 3 months 3 months 
			 Longest 10 months 11 months 
		
	
	Medicines and Healthcare Regulations products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
	We do not keep records relating to the number of staff engaged through employment agencies. Each department/division takes responsibility for their own arrangements.
	The costs of agency staff in the years where information is available, is shown in the table.
	
		
			   
			 2005-06 2,088.00 
			 2004-05 1,499,000 
			 2003-04 1,058,000

Hospital Choice

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many copies of the document 'Choosing your hospital: National menu - your choice of hospitals across England', were ordered by her Department.

Andy Burnham: 100,000 copies of the 'Choosing your hospital - National Menu' were printed and distributed to primary care trusts for onward distribution to patients via general practitioner practices, other primary care professionals and local libraries.

Hospital Choice

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost was of  (a) publishing and  (b) disseminating the publication Choosing your hospital: National menuyour choice of hospitals across England; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: 'Choosing your hospital: National menuyour choice of hospitals across England', was published in November 2006 on www.nhs.uk. 100,000 hard-copies of the booklet were printed for distribution to general practitioner practices and libraries via primary care trusts. The total cost of publication, including the compilation of the necessary information, was 191,000. The cost of distribution was 3,500.

Hospital Infections

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people  (a) in total and  (b) under the age of (i) one year old and (ii) five years old died from (A) clostridium difficile and (B) MRSA infection in each year since 1997.

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 23 January 2007:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many people  (a) in total and  (b) under the age of (i) one year old and (ii) five years old died from (A)  clostridium difficile and (B) MRSA infection in each year since 1997. (116118)
	Special analyses of deaths involving MRSA and clostridium difficile are undertaken annually by ONS for England and Wales. These are published in Health Statistics Quarterly. The latest year for which such figures are available is 2004.
	Information on the numbers of deaths between 1999 and 2004 involving  clostridium difficile was published in Health Statistics Quarterly 30 in May 2006.(1) This report presents data for the number of death certificates which (a) mention  clostridium difficile and (b) list  clostridium difficile as the underlying cause of death. The table below is extracted from ONS' special  clostridium difficile database. Data for 1997, 1998, and 2000 are not available.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of deaths certificates in England and Wales which (1) mentioned clostridium difficile( 1)  and (2) recorded clostridium difficile as the underlying cause of death( 2)  at (a) all ages and (b) under the age of (i) one year old and (ii) five years old ( 3)  in 1999 and 2001-2004 ( 4) 
			   (1) Mentions  (2) Underlying cause 
			   (a) Total  (b)(i) under 1  (b)(ii) under 5  (a) Total  (b)(i) under 1  (b)(ii) under 5 
			 1999 975 0 0 531 0 0 
			 2001 1,214 0 0 691 0 0 
			 2002 1,428 0 0 756 0 0 
			 2003 1,788 1 1 958 1 1 
			 2004 2,247 0 1 1,245 0 0 
			 (1) Identified using the methodology described in Office for National Statistics (2005) Report: Deaths involving clostridium difficile: England and Wales, 1999-2004. Health Statistics Quarterly 3Q, 56-60. (2 )Excludes neonatal deaths. (3) Total for under five years includes deaths under 1 year of age. (4) Deaths registered in 1999, deaths occurring in 2001-2004. 
		
	
	Information on the number of deaths involving MRSA was published in  Health Statistics Quarterly 29 in February 2006.(2) The report presents data for the number of deaths certificates which (a) mention MRSA and (b) list MRSA as the underlying cause of death. The table below is extracted from the ONS' special MRSA database.
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of deaths certificates in England and Wales which (1) mentioned MRSA( 1)  and (2) recorded MRSA as the underlying cause of death( 2)  at (a) all ages and (b) under the age of (i) one year old and (ii) five years old,( 3)  1997-2004 
			   (1) Mentions  (2) Underlying cause 
			   (a) Total  (b)(i) under 1  (b) (ii) under 5  (a) Total  (b)(i) under 1  (b) (ii) under 5 
			 1997 389 1 1 102 0 0 
			 1998 412 3 4 118 2 ? 
			 1999 487 0 1 126 0 0 
			 2000 669 0 0 195 0 0 
			 2001 734 1 1 254 0 0 
			 2002 800 0 1 248 0 0 
			 2003 955 2 2 321 0 0 
			 2004 1,168 1 1 360 0 0 
			 (1) Identified using the methodology described in Griffiths C, Lamagni TL,. Crowcroft NS, Duckworth G and Rooney C (2004) Trends in MRSA in England and Wales: analysis of morbidity and mortality data for 1993-2002. Health Statistics Quarterly 21, 15-22, (2) Excludes neonatal deaths. (3) Total for under five years includes deaths under 1 year of age. 
		
	
	(1) Office for National Statistics (2006) Report: Deaths involving  Clostridium difficile: England and Wales, 1999-2004.  Health Statistics Quarterly 30, 56-60.
	(2) Office for National Statistics (2006) Report: Deaths involving MRSA: England and Wales, 2000-2004.  Health Statistics Quarterly 29, 63-68.
	(3 )Griffiths C, Lamagni TL, Crowcroft NS, Duckworth G and Rooney C (2004). Trends in MRSA in England and Wales: analysis of morbidity and mortality data for 1993-2002.  Health Statistics Quarterly 21, 15-22.

Independent Treatment Centres

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what requirement is made of independent treatment centres to contribute towards the training costs incurred for staff previously employed by the national health service.

Andy Burnham: Independent Sector Treatment Centre (ISTC) providers are not required to make any special payment to the national health service to contribute towards the training costs previously incurred for staff previously employed in the NHS.
	The provider of an ISTC is responsible for ensuring that all of its staff receive such training, supervision and induction as is necessary to comply with best practice and the terms of the contract for the provision of services.

IT Projects

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many information technology projects within the responsibility of her Department, its agencies and their predecessors have been cancelled since 1997; what the total cost was of each project at cancellation; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The Department does not hold records for information technology (IT) projects completed before financial year 1999-2000. IT projects managed by the Department and its agencies with a full business case in excess of 100,000 or more, cancelled in financial year 1999-2000 onwards are listed below by:
	identity of who was managing the project, Department or agency;
	project name
	purpose of project
	financial year of cancellation
	full business case cost; and
	costs incurred at the time of cancellation.
	
		
			  Department of Health: Projects cancelled 2000-07 
			  Project name  Project purpose  Financial year of cancellation  Full business case cost of project ()  Costs incurred up to point of cancellation () 
			 Communications resource management system Improve financial management of resources used by the Departments communications team 2001-02 446,000 232,000

Mental Health

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what projects have been undertaken by her Department aimed at targeting inequalities and discrimination in mental health since May 1997; and what the cost was of each.

Rosie Winterton: The principal current campaigns are: Shift, Tackling Stigma And Discrimination; The National Social Inclusion Project (NSIP); And The Delivering Race Equality In Mental Health Care Action Plan (DRE).
	Shift is a five year initiative that began in 2004, intended to reduce the stigma and discrimination experienced by people on grounds of mental ill health, for example, in employment and the media. It is managed by the National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE) and funded by the Department. It received 900,000 in 2003-04 and 1 million in 2004-05. More information about the campaign is available at www.shift.org.uk .
	NSIP is a three year programme, led by NIMHE, co-ordinating cross-Government action to implement the Social Exclusion Unit's report 'Mental Health and Social Exclusion', published in June 2004. It is designed to reduce and remove the barriers to employment, mainstream services and community participation for those with mental health problems. NSIP's budget is 650,000. More information is available at www.socialinclusion.org.uk .
	DRE is a five year programme launched in January 2005. It addresses the acknowledged inequalities in access to mental health services, experience of services and outcomes from services that some people from black and minority ethnic communities can suffer. Resources for the programme include 16 million annually in primary care trust baseline allocations to fund 500 community development workers and around 2 million to fund 80 local community engagement projects. More information is available at www.dh.gov.uk/bmementalhealth .
	The Shift campaign's predecessors were the 'Mind Out' anti-stigma campaign that ran from 2001 until 2004 at a total cost of 3.473 million/and the 'Impact Strategy', 1997 - 2001, for public information about mental health issues. Total cost 5.7 million.

Newcastle City Council: Social Services Provision

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions her officials have had with Newcastle City Council on the standard of  (a) adult and  (b) children's social services provided by the authority.

Ivan Lewis: Officials of the Department have had no discussions with Newcastle City Council regarding adult social services. Children's services are the responsibility of my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and Skills.
	I am informed by the Chair of the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) that in CSCI's Performance Ratings for Adults' Social Services in England, published in November 2006, Newcastle City Council's rating fell from three to two stars. As a result of this fall, CSCI is in the process of discussing with Newcastle City Council the plan for service inspections to be carried out in the 2006-07 performance inspection year.

NHS: Barnet

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many residents of Barnet primary care trust area received  (a) out-patient and  (b) in-patient treatment in (i) 1997-98 and (ii) 2005-06; how many have received each type of treatment in 2006-07; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The out-patient data requested is not held centrally. The following table shows the latest figures available for finished in-patient admissions for residents of Barnet primary care trust.
	
		
			  Count of finished in year admissions (in-patient data) and appointment count (out-patient data) for residents of Barnet PCTdata for NHS hospitals England 
			   PCT of residence (based on patients' postcode)  PCT of responsibility (based on patients' GP postcode) 
			  Data year  In-patients admissions  Out-patients appointments attended  In-patients admissions  Out-patients appointments attended 
			 1997-98 53,286 n/a 54,499 n/a 
			 2005-06 65,485 n/a 69,247 n/a 
			 n/a = data not available.  Notes:  In-patients footnotes: Finished in-year admissions: A finished in-year admission is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider, excluding admissions beginning before 1 April at the start of the data year. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.  Data quality: 1. Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) are compiled from data sent by over 300 NHS Trusts and Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in England. 2. The Health and Social Care Information Centre liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.  Ungrossed data: Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).  Primary care trust (PCT) and strategic health authority (SHA) data quality: PCT and SHA data was added to historic data-years in the HES database using 2002-03 boundaries, as a one-off exercise in 2004. The quality of the data on PCT of Treatment and SHA of Treatment is poor in 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99, with over a third of all finished episodes having missing values in these years. Data quality of PCT of GP practice and SHA of GP practice in 1997-98 and 1998-99 is also poor, with a high proportion missing values where practices changed or ceased to exist. There is less change in completeness of the residence-based fields over time, where the majority of unknown values are due to missing postcodes on birth episodes. Users of time series analysis including these years need to be aware of these issues in their interpretation of the data.  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The Information Centre for Health and Social Care  Out-patients footnotes: Attended or did not attend: This indicates whether or not a patient attended an appointment. If the patient did not attend an indication of whether or not advanced warning was given. Analysis of 'did not attend' and 'cancellations' must be restricted to only the trusts which return data.  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES); Out-patients, The Information Centre for Health and Social Care

NHS Cost

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS cost the public purse in 2005-06; and how much this equated to per tax-paying citizen.

Andy Burnham: National health service expenditure is not usually presented in the format per tax paying citizen.
	Total NHS expenditure for 2005-06 was 76.4 billion. (Estimated outturn)
	The total number of individual income tax payers in 2005-06 was 29,700,000. (Figure taken from HMT, HMRC/stats/tax receipts/tablel-4).

NHS Direct

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the estimated annual cost is to the public purse of providing NHS Direct through Freeview.

Andy Burnham: NHS Direct Special Health Authority indicate that the cost of providing NHS Direct Interactive service on the Freeview platform is 800,000 plus VAT per year.
	The service was launched on 20 December 2006 so the costs for this financial year, 2006-07, will be 230,000.

NHS Finance

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what elements are covered by the category Other in figure 6.1, page 104 of her Department's annual report.

Andy Burnham: The other category of 2,312 million, includes ambulance expenditure of 1,176 million, the other 1,137 is attributable to other services and expenditure.

NHS Research Budget

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the budget of the  (a) Medical Research Council and  (b) NHS research and development has been in each year from 1997-98 to 2006-07 in (i) real and (ii) cash terms; and what she expects the combined budgets to be in  (A) 2007-08 and  (B) 2008-09.

Caroline Flint: The historic and current funding information requested is shown in the following table:
	
		
			   million 
			   Medical Research Council  NHS Research and Development 
			   Cash( 1)  Real terms( 2)  Cash  Real terms( 2) 
			 1997-98 289 358 426 528 
			 1998-99 290 350 420 508 
			 1999-2000 305 361 434 514 
			 2000-01 319 373 448 523 
			 2001-02 350 399 475 542 
			 2002-03 372 412 506 560 
			 2003-04 430 462 533 573 
			 2004-05 458 479 601 629 
			 2005-06 503 516 617 634 
			 2006-07 503 503 659 659 
			 (1) Figures for years to 2000-01 are cash based and for later years are expenditure based. (2) 2006-07 cash equivalent calculated using the gross domestic product deflator. 
		
	
	The Medical Research Council budget for 2007-08 will be 546 million, and for NHS research and development will be 730 million. Budget allocations for 2008-09 have yet to be agreed.

NHS Services

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what definition her Department uses of the word disproportionate in section F, para 3.30 Expenditure in the Code of Practice for Promotion of NHS Services; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The 'Code of practice for promotion of NHS services' makes it clear that responsibility for appropriate expenditure on advertising and promotion to general practitioners, patients and the public lies with providers' boards. It proposes two options around controlling expenditure on promotion:
	recording and disclosure of annual spend on promotion; or
	limiting expenditure.
	It asks for views on these options, on how the level of any cap on expenditure should be determined and on the proposed definition of expenditure.
	This is a consultation and the Department will listen carefully to stakeholder responses before deciding on the final approach.

Nurses: Training

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many students enrolled on  (a) (i) diploma courses and (ii) in degree courses in nursing,  (b) allied health professional courses and  (c) part-time post-registration continuing professional development courses in each training establishment in each of the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: Information on the number of students enrolled on nursing diploma and degree courses as well as allied health professional courses in each of the last five years is shown in the tables.
	This information broken down by each training establishment and information on numbers on part-time post-registration continuing professional development courses is not collected centrally.
	
		
			  Pre-registration nursing and midwifery training commissions 
			   Nursing Diploma  Degree  Total  Midwifery Degree  Diploma  Total  Other  Total 
			 2001-02 18,141 2,483 20,624 621 525 1,146 732 21,770 
			 2002-03 18,980 2,543 21,523 709 724 1,433 677 22,956 
			 2003-04 19,957 2,858 22,815 753 716 1,469 757 24,284 
			 2004-05 19,993 3,384 23,377 895 744 1,639 735 25,016 
			 2005-06 19,648 3,582 23,230 1,042 517 1,559 661 24,789 
			  Source: Quarterly monthly returns 
		
	
	
		
			  Pre-registration allied health professional training commissions 
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Physiotherapy 1,780 2,157 2,343 2,357 2,400 
			 Occupational therapy 1,563 1,692 1,822 1,925 1,961 
			 Radiography 948 1,227 1,411 1,461 1,555 
			 Diagnostic 730 942 1,105 1,158 1,241 
			 Therapeutic 218 285 306 303 314 
			 Orthoptics 60 45 59 73 68 
			 Speech therapy 553 597 630 740 797 
			 Prosthetics and orthotics 27 30 29 35 27 
			 Dietetics 237 279 353 306 386 
			 Chiropody 345 427 451 559 446 
			 Total 5,513 6,454 7,098 7,456 7,640 
			  Sources: QMR = NMET quarterly monitoring reports

Office for Strategic Co-ordination of Health Research

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to establish the Office for Strategic Co-ordination of Health Research.

Caroline Flint: Work to establish the Office for Strategic Coordination of Health Research (OSCHR) is in progress and John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford University has been appointed as interim chair. We aim to establish OSCHR as soon as practicable.

Retirement Age

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 4 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 189-90, on the retirement age, what her Department's policy is on the application of the national default retirement age to staff below the Senior Civil Service.

Ivan Lewis: With effect from 1 October 2006, the Department has adopted the default retirement age of 65 for all employees. Employees who attain the age of 60 years after 1 October 2006 are entitled to elect whether to retire or to remain in employment for a period of their choosing, up to age 65. Employees will receive a letter from their human resources team six months before they reach age 60 setting out both options.

Revascularisation

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate her Department has made of the appropriate rate for revascularisation procedures per million people for  (a) 2007,  (b) 2011 and  (c) 2016.

Rosie Winterton: Information is not available for the years requested. However, the table shows the national projected revascularisation rates for the years 2008, 2010 and 2015, based upon three scenarios. These scenarios have been modelled based upon an assessment of current English and international trends and in consultation with cardiac network clinical leads.
	
		
			  Revascularisation numbers and ratesnational projections 
			Data  Revascularisation rates per million people 
			   Scenario (per million people)  PQ  CABG  Revasc  Population  England 
			 2008 1900 65902.2 22500.0 88402.2 51069642.6 1731 
			  2200 714593 22500.0 93959.3 51069642.6 1840 
			  2500 76605.3 22500.0 99105.3 51069642.6 1941 
			 2010 1900 68622.4 22500.0 91122.4 51576184.2 1767 
			  2200 76741.5 22500.0 99241.5 51576184.2 1924 
			  2500 84433.3 22500.0 106933.3 51576184.2 2073 
			 2015 1900 77883.1 22500.0 100383.1 52849008.8 1899 
			  2200 93699,9 22500.0 116199.9 52849008.8 2199 
			  2500 109563.2 22500.0 132063.2 52849008.8 2499

Sexual Health

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made by the 300 million programme announced in November 2004 to modernise and transform sexual health services at a local level; and how the money has been spent.

Caroline Flint: In February 2005, individual primary care trusts PCTs were notified of their revenue allocations for 2006-07 and 2007-08. strategic health authorities (SHAs) were notified of their capital allocations in February 2006. The overall allocation for sexual health from Choosing Health funding was over 250 million for those two years. It is for SHAs and PCTs to determine how this funding is allocated to meet the healthcare needs of their local populations.
	We are making good progress on the 48 hour access to genitor-urinary clinics. Overall the results show a continued quarterly increase in the percentage of attendees seen within 48 hours, from 48 per cent. in August 2005 to 65 per cent. in November 2006.
	We are continuing to roll out the national Chlamydia screening programme. Findings for the first three years show that screening volumes are increasing over time from just over 18,000 in year one to over 63,000 in year two and over 104,000 in year three.
	We have completed a national baseline review of contraceptive services in England to enable PCTs to identify gaps in service provision at local level and we will be publishing the national findings soon.
	The new adult sexual health campaign, Condom Essential Wear, launched in November 2006 targets hard to reach 18 to 24-year-old men and woman who engage in sexually risky behaviour and are therefore at risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
	The campaign promotes condom use and raises awareness about the prevalence and invisibility of STIs. It includes television, radio, press and digital advertising, a consumer and stakeholder website and significant PR and partnership activity. 4 million has been spent on the campaign so far this year, an funding for the next financial year is currently under consideration.
	Condom Essential Wear is one of three current Government campaigns working to improve sexual health and reduce teenage pregnancy, complimenting the Department for Education and Skills teenage pregnancy campaigns R U Thinking aimed at 13 to 16-year-olds and Want Respect? Use a Condom aimed at 16 to 18-year-olds. In 2006-07 the Department contributed 1.61 million to the Department for Education and Skills for these campaigns.

Sexual Health

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people visited each sexual health clinic for testing for sexually transmitted infection in Hertfordshire in each year since 1997; and what percentage of patients were seen within 24 hours.

Caroline Flint: The number of first attendances at genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinics in east and north Hertfordshire primary care trust (PCT) and west Hertfordshire PCT, 1997 to 2005 is given in the table.
	Clinic level data is not released to the public by the Health Protection Agency without prior consent of the clinics concerned. The table therefore presents data for all clinics within the two PCTs.
	First attendances are attendances for a new episode of a sexually transmitted infection (STI). All patients attending the GUM clinic for a new STI episode are offered a full sexual health screen. The patient may be a new or an existing patient. First attendances do not include attendances for follow-up consultations.
	The number of attendances may be slightly underreported in the KC60 surveillance.
	
		
			   Number of first attendances 
			 1997 9,585 
			 1998 10,911 
			 1999 11,815 
			 2000 12,555 
			 2001 13,496 
			 2002 13,888 
			 2003 13,528 
			 2004 11,471 
			 2005 10,992 
			  Source:  STI KC60 statutory returns from 1997 to 2005, Health Protection Agency. 
		
	
	The percentage of people seen within 24 hours at GUM clinics is not collected centrally. The November 2006 summary data on the percentage of patients seen with 48 hours can be found in Waiting times for Genitourinary Medicine clinics: Results from the November 2006 audit, copies of which are available in the Library and is available at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/hiv_and_sti/epidemiology/results_november_2006.htm.

Social Care Recruitment

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much her Department has spent on social care recruitment campaigns in each year since 1997-98.

Ivan Lewis: The Department began the social care campaign in 2003-04 so we only have figures for the three most recent financial years.
	The table sets out the cost of social care recruitment campaigns for years 2003 to 2006.
	
		
			  Social care recruitment campaigns 
			million 
			 2003-04 2.81 
			 2004-05 1.28 
			 2005-06 1.83

Trans Fats

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what research her Department has undertaken into the level of trans fats in products provided by fast food and drink outlets; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps she is taking to encourage fast food and drink outlets to reduce the level of trans fats in their food products.

Caroline Flint: Limited information on the levels of trans fats present in the types of food products available in fast food outlets is published in McCance and Widdowson's 'The Composition of Foods'.
	The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has no plans to carry out further analyses. Results from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (2000-01) which looks at dietary intakes shows that intakes of trans fats are within maximum recommended intakes, whereas saturated fat intakes currently exceed public health recommendations, consequently saturated fat intakes represent the greater heart health risk and remain the priority for Government.
	The FSA welcomes and encourages the voluntary initiatives some businesses, including the fast food sector and the catering sector more widely, have undertaken to reduce the trans fats levels in their food products. However, any product reformulation to reduce the levels of trans fats, generally through the removal of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, should not result in increases in the saturated fat levels in foods.

Waiting Times

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the oral answer by the Prime Minister of 13 December 2006,  Official Report, column 865, on engagements, if she will publish the data from which the Prime Minister's statement derived that hundreds of thousands of people used to wait for 12 months for an NHS operation when she came to office.

Andy Burnham: The data requested, covering the period 1992-93 to 1996-97, are shown in the following table.
	
		
			Number of people waiting for in-patient treatment who had been waiting longer than 12 months since the decision to admit 
			 1992-93 June 84,916 
			 1992-93 September 80,581 
			 1992-93 December 72,869 
			 1992-93 March 56,877 
			 1993-94 June 65,832 
			 1993-94 September 71,022 
			 1993-94 December 75,107 
			 1993-94 March 64,508 
			 1994-95 June 65,480 
			 1994-95 September 62,341 
			 1994-95 December 54,834 
			 1994-95 March 32,194 
			 1995-96 June 32,759 
			 1995-96 September 27,938 
			 1995-96 December 20,488 
			 1995-96 March 4,576 
			 1996-97 June 10,399 
			 1996-97 September 14,993 
			 1996-97 December 22,161 
			 1996-97 March 31,208 
			  Source:  KH07 return (provider based)

West Herts NHS Trust

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether she expects West Herts NHS Trust to have a financial deficit at the end of 2006-07; and whether the calculations will include pre-existing debt;
	(2)  what the level of debt is within West Herts NHS Trust including pre-existing debt; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: At the end of quarter two 2006-07, West Hertfordshire National Health Service Trust is forecasting a financial year-end deficit of 11.5 million. This does not include the cumulative deficit of 41.2 million the trust reported at the end of 2005-06.
	The historic cumulative surplus/deficit of West Hertfordshire NHS Trust is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Cumulative surplus/(deficit) (000) 
			 1997-98 0 
			 1998-99 0 
			 1999-2000 0 
			 2000-01 17 
			 2001-02 (11,470) 
			 2002-03 198 
			 2003-04 (4,454) 
			 2004-05 (14,432) 
			 2005-06 (41,217)

West Herts NHS Trust

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much private finance initiative funding West Hertfordshire NHS Trust has received since 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: West Hertfordshire Hospital National Health Service Trust has not had any private finance initiative funding. I understand, however, that the trust is still working to centralise acute services at its Watford hospital site and continues to support plans to develop the new Watford health campus.

West Herts NHS Trust

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations she has received from West Hertfordshire NHS trust on  (a) financial and  (b) organisational assistance with their budget deficits.

Andy Burnham: The Secretary of State has not had representations made to her or her Ministers by West Hertfordshire hospital national health service trust. Departmental officials met with representatives of the trust, on 31 July this year to discuss the trust's financial position. The trust has a turnaround director and agreed turnaround plan in place.